Pink and Gold
by EdwardWongHauPepiluTivriskyIV
Summary: Sometimes the danger is pushing them away, rather than letting them in.  Lupin learns the hard way to let go of his insecurities, all in the name of a certain Metamorphmagus. LupinXTonks
1. Showing Care

It was 7 A.M… It had to be. The sun was beginning to rise over the rooftops of the many houses in the city of London casting an annoying glow and waking up the inhabitants of the comfortable homes littering the streets, but irritating the living daylights out of Nymphadora Tonks, who had an all-nighter shift guarding various rooms at the Ministry of Magic with Kingsley Shacklebolt. The night was very draining because she wasn't very used to pulling all-nighters.

Apparating to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Tonks put a hand to her eyes and cursed the sun for being "too damn bright" because she was anything but. Two weeks ago, she moved into Number 12 because she was tired of living alone and knew the company of Sirius and Lupin there would make her feel better. Tonks had been letting on in small pieces that she had fancied Remus, but he would not let her in due to his "condition." There were a few spats about her not caring about him being a werewolf and that it only happened once a month, but he would not change his mind and firmly told her so. She did not want to think about him right now because all that was on her mind was a nice comfortable bed with a pink crocheted blanket in a nice spacious room right below the attic. Walking into the house, she was greeted by the smell of morning coffee and two people talking in the kitchen and knowing who they were, went to go say hello before she headed off to bed.

"Wotcher," the young Auror greeted, trying to stifle a yawn.

"You look horrible Nymphadora," smiled Sirius Black looking casual and relaxed, messing around with his "favorite cousin" knowing well she did not like the name and would be irritated from her shift. He was also commenting on the fact that her hair was half pink on the left side and half purple on the right side which was new to the two of them, only she did not know it yet. Lupin was sitting across from his best friend, drinking the coffee that was so aromatic, looking a little tired himself, but also in a relaxed mood.

"What have I said about calling me that awful name!" yelled 'Nymphadora' as her hair turned from her tired pink and purple combination to a bright red as her eyes turned the same color, a glare appearing on her face.

"Sorry," apologized Sirius with a smile still on his face. Tonks's hair returned to its dual-colored phase as she poured herself some coffee and sat down next to Sirius.

"How was your night?" questioned Remus after taking a sip.

"Oh great!" replied Tonks sarcastically. "I sang that new Weird Sister's song about twenty six times, can't remember the name of it, but the lyrics are stuck in my head for life, Kingsley and I know a lot of random trivia about one another and I found a Knut," she finished, pulling the bronze coin out of her pocket and throwing it on the table."

"Better to be uneventful, then full of tragedy," suggested Lupin running a hand through his ruffled hair and then getting up. "I have some business to attend to, so I will see you two later," he told and then walked away.

"You know that stuffs going to keep you up now, don't you?" wondered Sirius, seeing her sipping the coffee absentmindedly lingering on the spot where Lupin had just left from.

Snapping back to reality, Tonks told her cousin, knowing this was his own special brew of strong coffee, "I'm so tired, not even this is going to keep me up," as she drank the last of it and put down her cup.

"You know your hair is half and half, don't you?" questioned Sirius. Tonks pulled two strands, one from each side of her head, glanced at them both and sighed, letting them go.

"This always happens when I'm exhausted," whined Tonks as she made her way to her room.

* * *

As soon as Tonks reached the room, she didn't change out of her black robes, but just fell onto the bed and closed her eyes. What was bothering her was the fact that although her night was uneventful, her mind was working overtime. Thoughts of Lupin filtered their way into her brain when she took a few short breaks around 1 A.M. to get some air outside and saw that the moon was almost full. He was going to be transforming tonight and would be spending a long and painful night in the Shrieking Shack. A while back, Lupin decided with the rumors still flying around about the Shrieking Shack being filled with ghosts, nobody would dare go near it, so he decided he would apparate there as evening was falling and spend his night there out of the way from any humans. He wouldn't even think about transforming at Grimmauld Place because that would just be destructive. With a shortage on some of the ingredients and no shortcuts to make up for those shortages on the Wolfsbane Potion, a couple of previous month's transformations were painful and just heartbreaking for Tonks when she saw him return to the house injured and ill-looking.

Two months ago, the young woman was visiting the house (she did that a lot before she moved in) when she walked by Lupin's room and noticed he was all banged up from the previous night when he was suffering his werewolf state, so with the flick of her wand, a bunch of bandages fell onto the bed in a small pile and started to bandage up her friend. Even though a spell could have done the bandaging for her, she was not very good with healing spells so she just completed the task manually so there wouldn't be an accident and she also did not want to wake him up. By the time Lupin woke up, Tonks was gone and he wondered who patched him up, but no one come forward so he just guessed it was Tonks, but did not say anything.

After a while, Tonks heard small voices and knew there was an Order meeting. Looking at a small Green clock on the wall, it read 9:00 A.M.

"Damn you Sirius," Nymphadora told the ceiling, seeing she had not been sleeping for about two hours now. Now though, she knew what to drink the next time she had an all-nighter.

Tonight, she thought, was the night she was going to see Lupin at his most dangerous and awful time, although nobody was going to know about it.

* * *

So…what do you think?

I thought the movie needed more Tonks, Lupin and Sirius. The woman who played Bellatrix LeStrange was really good though.

Anyway, I read a bunch of RLNT and decided to try my own. Tell me what you think!


	2. Caring hurts

Lupin never returned that day. Tonks thought the task he had to complete probably took him most of the day to complete and then he went straight to the Shrieking Shack. At 11:00 P.M. the only people left in the house were Sirius and her. Sirius was not very worried, or at least he did not show it; he had known Lupin ever since he started transforming and knew if he spent the night alone there, he would be safe from hurting others and pull through the night.

Tonks decided to try and get a little sleep before she went to go check on Lupin. She did not sleep at all that day, but her hair returned to one color and she was able to change it to her favorite purple shade, also she did not feel tired, but tried anyway.

At 1:00 A.M. Tonks found herself staring at the peeling paint of her comfortable bedroom below the attic. Even though she had an all nighter on her shift as patrol, she was finding it very hard to fall asleep. Right now, Lupin was on her mind, all alone in the Shrieking Shack only a danger to himself and a "ghost" to the nearby citizens. What if he had hurt himself? What did he do when he transformed? Was he human right now? All these questions floated through the young Auror's mind as she turned over, pulled the pink afghan closer to her body and looked out the window adjacent to her bed to see an owl fly by the full moon illuminating the dark night sky and cursed it for being there. Cursed it for causing her friend so much pain as if it was physically damaging Remus Lupin itself.

Finally realizing she wasn't going to be getting any sleep anytime soon; Tonks got out of bed, changed into a set of black robes, changed her hair to black and shortening it to shoulder length, walked down the stairs into the living room and out the door into the cool night. She walked a few steps, checking to see if anyone was watching and Apparated to Hogsmeade, a little ways away from the Shrieking Shack and not into it in case Lupin was still in his rage.

'It's unfair he has to suffer this uncontrollable torture every month,' thought Tonks sadly and angrily as she walked up to the weather and age worn house as quietly as she could, being thankful along the way she did not fall or cause any unnecessary loud noises. When she got up to the top, she muttered "lumos" under her breath, opened the door a sliver and peeked inside, her wand raised slightly. Her wand's light cast a shadow and only showed another door leading to the sitting room, so closing the first door and slowly opening the second creaky door a sliver, there laid an exhausted werewolf, full of scratches and growling. It was a horrible and heartbreaking sight to witness and Tonks just wanted to rush right in and do anything within her power to help him, but her training had taught her not to approach a werewolf as they were dangerous to even a very experienced witch or wizard, but only take action if it tries to harm another human.

The area around Lupin looked awful, pertaining severe scratch marks on the floor and many times tattered and dusty furniture and blood stains splattered in a few areas. There were no signs of light and the only sounds beside the pained growls of the werewolf were the creaking and slapping of various shutters, some hanging from their hinges, against the gloomy house due to the gusty winds of the night. Tonks watched as Lupin's growling stopped and his breathing became softer and more regular, so she guessed he was now asleep.

Sleepiness also poured over Nymphadora as she let out a long, though quiet yawn. Lupin's werewolf ears twitched a little, but he did not stir as Tonks put a hand to her mouth to prevent any more sounds from escaping it. Seeing as her friend was not going to be changing back any time now, Tonks closed the door slowly, muttered Nox and sat down to the left of the crooked door.

"I'll check up on him in an hour, just need to rest my eyes for a bit," thought the young woman as she closed her eyes, placing her wand in her lap with a light grip on its handle.

* * *

The next morning, the rays of the early morning sun shone brightly through the dirty, broken windows as a new day began. The young auror stirred slowly as the rays began to aggravate her eyes and she put an unconscious arm over her eyes and opened them slowly, looking around only to realize she had spent the night in the Shrieking Shank and…her wand was gone. Hair turning a pale pink, and all the color draining from her face, Tonks jumped up and started frantically searching the floor thinking she dropped her wand while she slept and it rolled a little ways away from her, only to come up empty. What if Lupin woke up in his werewolf form and taken it from her and destroyed it? Only one way to find, as Tonks slammed open the door and looked inside to reveal an empty room bathed in sunlight. She yelled a few choice words, slammed the door and went outside, hoping beyond hope this wasn't happening. It was happening though.

Remus Lupin sat outside, re-robed and tired with a few more scratches on his face, but still had the ability to keep his composure to the expression Nymphadora wore as she slammed open the exterior door, hair flaming and just noticed Lupin sitting there against the house.

"What did you do with it?!" she demanded getting between inches from his face.

"Oh, you mean this?" he answered, taking her wand out of his pocket and handing it to her in which she snatched it back, hair turning redder by the moment.

"You know how I don't like to be without my wand!" Nymphadora yelled, pointing her wand against his chest ready to strike.

"Why are you here?" Lupin questioned, not taking out his wand just yet; he did not believe she was going to curse him. "You're being very foolish," told Lupin calmly, watching the young witch fume. As she opened her mouth to either curse him or yell, he gave her a nod and apparated simply to Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

"This isn't over!" shouted Tonks as she to prepared to apparate, but couldn't. A few more attempts later, Tonks figured Lupin put an anti-disapparation charm on her in order to teach her a lesson or something. Thinking of a second option, Tonks held up her wand, yelled, "Accio Broom," and waited until an old fashioned broom that she owned for a long time zoomed by, jumped on and took off at top speed. Number 12 was quite the distance away, even by broom and all the while back, thoughts of different curses she'd like to place on the man came to mind as the countryside whirred by in fast blurs of many shades of greens and browns. A few owls raced her from time to time, some carrying letters of various sizes while others were wild. Being an Auror taught Tonks that the only way to lift the anti-disapparation charm was for the person who performed it, to remove it.

Upon arriving at Grimmauld Place one and a half hours later, Tonks's hair went to a dark crimson. She got off her broom, carried it over her shoulder, took out her wand and threw the front door open yelling, "Where is he?!" before walking down the narrow hall. Low voices of Remus telling Sirius of his transformation told her he was in the kitchen so she started storming down the hallway and into the kitchen. As soon as she saw Remus, she ran up to him and put her wand against his chest once more.

"How dare you pu—"

"Expelliarmus!" yelled Sirius pointing his wand at the "scene," sending Tonks's wand against the wall, then falling to the ground with a soft clink.

"What is going on here?" questioned Sirius confused as Nymphadora went to pick up her wand, keeping her eyes on Lupin.

"It's nothing," informed Lupin as Tonks glared at him, but then lowered her glare and also said it was nothing. Sirius stared at the two of them trying to figure out what was going on that would send Tonks in a rage at Lupin so much as to set her wand on him. Afterall, the only time Tonks saw Lupin was yesterday morning and they weren't fighting at the table so something was up.

Nymphadora stormed out of the room and Lupin followed. Once they were out of earshot, Lupin gave the counter charm so she would be able to disapparate again.

"You took a very foolish action!" Lupin told firmly. "What if you were attacked in the dead of night by a death eater…or me!" he yelled.

"The only reason I went there last night was to ma—"Tonks cut herself off, realizing what she was about to say, but decided since she let most of it out, she might as well finish. There was no point in leaving the room; they were shouting loud enough for the people down the road to hear them, let alone inform Sirius of what they were fighting about.

"I went there to make sure you were alright! There's no Wolfsbane Potion right now, so you have to endure the pain!" yelled Tonks, as a tear slid down your cheek. At that moment, Lupin's anger left him as he saw another tear slide down her cheek.

"I don't want to hur—"Lupin tried to soothe, but Tonks apparated. Lupin sighed and went back into the kitchen to see his friend giving him a look that suggest that he knew what going on. Since they were friends for a long time, he told him some small parts of the story including him finding her sleeping next to the door and how he took her wand, but made sure he did not put her in harms way. Sirius promised he would not say anything to anybody.

Remus wondered where Nymphadora went off to. He had never seen her cry before and it came as a surprising shock to him.

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There's chapter 2!!! Yay!!! I got many ideas when I listen to the songs that play throughout the store at my sucky job. Hope you all like it!!!


	3. More than you know

Over the next few days, anyone Tonks was on duty with, would all have agreed that she looked horrible. Her hair was not its usual popping Pink or Purple, but changed from a mousy brown or limply black hair, almost similar to Professor Snapes. It did not look as if she was depressed, but preoccupied. Tonks herself kept rolling over the events of her last encounter with Lupin and the few tears she shed. Why did she shed those tears? She was normally so strong and never cried. Those few days, Nymphadora was rarely seen around number 12, maybe trying to avoid Remus.

One night, Tonks returned from her shift late Midnight to see Lupin in the sitting room, which looked better at night than it did in the day, with its weak light from a few candles and oil lamps, squishy mismatched sofa, loveseat and armchair. A polished, oak coffee table stood in the center of the room with a steaming cup of tea upon it. The sight just seemed so comfortable and inviting for the tired Auror, until she saw sitting on the couch, reading a narrow covered maroon book, Remus Lupin. Upon sight of hearing her footsteps, he set the book down on his lap and looked at his frazzled friend.

"Remus…" she began as she slouched down on the loveseat, removing her boots and setting down at the foot of the sofa.

"Nymp—Tonks, I didn't want to do that, but I don't want you there when I'm at my worst," he told, seeing her expression show she was about to protest.

"Does that mean you have to mess with my apparation!" bellowed Tonks, then remembering what hour it was and lowered her voice.

"What if I attacked you?" he questioned, setting the book on the table and grabbing his cup of tea.

"You didn't though," she protested back. "I know how to handle myself! I'm an Auror!" she told in an irritated whisper.

"That's why I was able to take your wand so easily," said Lupin slyly, not noticing Tonks putting her hand to the pocket in which her wand stayed close to her.

"Why are you doing this to me?" deemed Tonks desperately, putting her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"I care about you too much to see you hurt by the hands of me."

"That will never happen. Why can't you give me a chance, and—"

"I will always be there if you ever need any help, but we should only remain good friends," summed up Lupin. Tonks sighed and decided not to argue back. Instead, she went over to Lupin and sat down next to him.

"Is it always very painful?" she questioned, turning sideways to face Lupin while laying her head against the couch. Considering this for a moment, Lupin closed his book and put it on the coffee table and gave her his full attention.

"When I was taking the Wolfsbane potion, I was still in a bit of pain, but not as much as it has been when I am not able to take it. Without it, I would lose my head and not be able to control my actions, in turn inflicting pain upon myself when no one is around. I would never want to hurt anyone, but when I transform, it's like someone is controlling me and I can't fight it. I felt a lot of pain from my injuries and the anger of not being able to take out my rage fully. I am only a threat to humans, animals on the other hand are no problem, so when James and Sirius learned to become animagi, they would be able to visit me and I would not have an urge to attack them. In the morning, I would return to my normal state of mind and body, but feel horrible. I can remember some of what happened, but many events stay a blur to me," Lupin told, Tonks listening very intently, internally distressed. She wanted to take away his pain. How could somebody who appeared so strong and intelligent, have to endure such distress. In turn, Tonks could only nod as she laid her head on his shoulder and tried to find the right thing to say because words escaped her and the few questions she had, she was finding it hard to remember them at the moment. Lupin saw it was hard for her to digest all he told her, so he put a comforting arm around her back. The limp black hair turned into a brilliant blue. Even though she had studied Werewolves and had training on them during her Auror training and had taken on one during her guard duties, hearing about a friend's condition was still just so hard to accept.

After a while of sitting in silence, Remus noticed Tonks's eyes were closing and she was falling asleep on his shoulder, so he gave her a nudge.

"I think you should go to bed," he told the sleepy woman on his shoulder who sat up with eyes fluttering. Tonks stood up, mumbled a sleepy goodnight and was about to head up the stairs when Lupin called her name. Turning around, Lupin stood up and embraced her in a sincere hug. She awoke a little and returned the hug, feeling better than she had in the past few days. Hair turning back to its Pink hue, Tonks smiled and went to bed. Lupin decided he was going to finish his book before heading off to bed himself and sat back down, opening back to the page he last left off on. There was a dull _thump_and a small exclamation and Remus knew she must've stumbled into something and he chuckled to himself knowing how clumsy she is. Then he noticed her boots still sitting at the foot of the couch, took out his wand and with a small flicker, sent them up to her room. He then went back to his book.

The next day, Tonks went to Diagon Alley to buy a few things she needed and wanted to check on something. Many shoppers littered the streets, hustling and bustling to their destinations. There seemed to be a lot more people hanging around than usual, so something interesting must've been going on that day. Curiosity got the best of her, so she stopped the nearest person on the road and asked why there were so many people there today.

"Didn't you know?" said the young adult woman about the same age as herself. "The Weird Sisters were here today."

"Really?" Tonks inclined incredulously. She was kind of a big fan of the Weird Sisters, particularly liking their new song in which she still couldn't remember the title of.

"They left a half hour ago. Sorry you missed them," finished the girl and walked off. Damn, was all Tonks could think. If only she had decided to go to Diagon Alley early instead of sleeping in, she would've been able to see one of her favorite music groups. 'Oh well,' she sighed, 'Better get a move on.' With that, she started walking to Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions because her robes she wore when she was on duty were becoming very worn and torn. She wondered what it would have been like there if Hogwarts hadn't gone back yet.

As she was about to enter, two women clad in particularly grungy robes with small spider webs cut in various places walked by talking about the song with the title unknown to Tonks.

"…and my favorite part is when he says, 'I'll still be there in the dawn,' " told the Blond headed woman in which Tonks stopped, to a girl that looked exactly like her, presuming they were twins.

"Yeah, Night Tide is one of my favorite songs," the other girl told her twin as they kept walking. Night Tide! That was the name of the song! Smiling to herself, Tonks walked into the robe shop.

"Hello there," greeted the Store's owner, recognizing Tonks by her "always crazy colored hair" and going over to her.

"Wotcher," Tonks greeted back and smiling. "I'm going to need a few robes. My work ones are great, but they took a real beating.

"Well, we have a new selection if you would follow me," guided Ms. Malkin and Tonks followed.

About a half hour later, Tonks walked out of the shop with about six packages all neatly wrapped into three decorative purple bags. Next destination in mind, she decided to head to The Leaky Cauldron to get a cup of tea. When she entered the pub, she noticed a woman sitting at a table near the front of the store wearing a multi-colored crocheted sweater with kimono sleeves and went up to her right away. The woman didn't look up right away, but was reading the Daily Prophet.

"Wotcher Molly," greeted Nymphadora and Mrs. Weasley quickly put down the paper and jumped up.

"Hello dear," greeted red-headed Molly as she gave the young woman a hug and invited her to sit down. She closed up the prophet and set it off to the side while Tonks ordered a cup of tea.

"So how is the house now that everyone's gone (It's the middle of September)?" questioned the young Auror as her cup of tea was brought to her.

"Quiet," laughed Mrs. Weasley and Tonks, taking quite a few visits to the Burrow, knew she was referring to Fred and George, her twin sons. "So, what are you doing over here today?"

"Just doing a little shopping," Tonks told. "I needed some work robes and I was looking for—" then she thought for a moment, "Looking for some potion ingredients."

"I saw Alaster in the Apothecary just a little while ago. Says he was searching for a few ingredients for the Wolfsbane potion for Remus; came up empty though. I wonder why there are quite a few shortages in many ingredients," wondered Molly.

"Oh," thought Tonks defeated. "So you've been doing some shopping?" she said smiling, trying to hide her disappointment. Tonks admired talking with Molly Weasley. During the summer, she had spent a lot of time at the Burrow, especially with Ginny who loved having a "sister" amongst all her brothers.

"I went over to Kugo's Odds and Ends (Tonks looked at her questionably), it's a small "hole-in-the-wall shop upstairs from the Daily Prophet's Office. It sells many different things, but I go there to buy many colors of yarn. I got to start knitting now. Its only mid September, but it's already starting to become chilly," said Molly as she showed her friend the beautiful yarn in shades of maroon, gold, navy blue, red, emerald green and a particularly dark shade of purple that caught the Auror's eye.

"This one is so beautiful," said Tonks, pointing to the purple skein.

"I was going to make a nice chunky sweater for Ginny in that one," the older woman informed. "She loves the color purple."

"Actually," inquired Tonks. "She told me, right now her favorite color is green."

"Oh?" questioned Molly.

"That's what she told me last month." Tonks took a sip of tea. "You know, I enjoy chatting with you. You remind me of when I used to just sit around and chat with my mum. She used to knit also. When we would debate on events and such, she would sometimes drop stitches. I haven't seen her in a while though. Neither have I seen my dad."

"Maybe you should take some time off and take a visit home," Molly suggest, finishing off her tea and setting the cup aside.

"I dunno," muttered Tonks uncertainly. "I haven't been home in quite a while and when I received letters from them a while ago, they have moved for, which is now the third time in four years."

"It would be best if you sent out an owl with a letter saying you want to visit, but are unsure where they are currently located," Mrs. Weasley suggested thoughtfully. Thinking this over for a minute, Tonks decided to take Mrs. Weasley's advice and write a letter.

"I don't want to send out an owl from the Ministry, can I borrow Errol?" Tonks asked hopefully.

"Sure dear. Just stop by later and we'll send him out," Molly smiled.

Later that day, Tonks went over to the Burrow and composed a quick letter stating her name, Tonks(Underlined three times), saying how she missed them and asked where they were living now, and Mrs. Weasley sent off Errol telling him specifically to find Ted and Andromeda Tonks. After thanking Mrs. Weasley, in turn Mrs. Weasley giving her a nice hug, the Auror left telling her she had duty in the morning and left.

When she returned to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, it was to complete silence; not even Sirius was around. Sighing, Nymphadora went to bed wondering if her parents would receive the letter.


	4. Walk with me

"Pinkie, are you going to sleep your whole day away!" bellowed Sirius, his black hair held back today, walking by and noticing his cousin still asleep in her bed, still wearing her working robes. It was twelve in the afternoon and not seeing Tonks at all, wondered what was up.

"Go away," came a muffled voice as Tonks, now half asleep, pulled her pink afghan over her face to block out the light and Sirius.

"What time did you turn in last night?" Sirius questioned walking over to her bedside and looking down at her.

"Four this morning," moaned Tonks removing the blanket from her face to look up at Sirius. "We caught a death eater trying to break into the Ministry. People who catch death eaters get to sleep in," Tonks told then replacing the blanket back over her face. Sirius again told her to wake up. A hand came out from under the blanket and with a vertical fist, hobbled back and forth a few times.

"What are you doing?" questioned Sirius, surpassing a laugh, knowing what she was trying to do.

"Stunning you," came another muffled sentence as Nymphadora pulled the blanket more close to herself, wishing he would leave her to have 'just ten more minutes.'

"There's nothing in your hand," her cousin laughed. Realizing this, Tonks reached out to her small wooden nightstand on the left hand side of her bed and groped for her wand, but ended up knocking it off. Dropping her hand to the floor, she searched for her wand, and upon finding it, pulled it under the blankets.

Seeing as Tonks was not going to be getting up anytime soon, Sirius muttered 'Aguamenti' almost inaudibly and sent a small jet of water upon the Auror.

"What the hell Sirius!" screamed Nymphadora, not very angry but cranky, throwing the now drenched blanket off the bed and pointing her wand at Sirius. She muttered 'Densaugeo' and Sirius's teeth started to rapidly grow in front of him. Sirius left the room quickly to take care of the problem.

When Sirius and Tonks entered the kitchen, Sirius with teeth shrinking back to normal size and Tonks with her hair drenched, Lupin took one look at the two of them and muttered, "I don't want to know." Tonks flicked her wand and dried off and the both of them sat down.

"Says here in the Prophet, Avery was caught late last night trying to break into the Ministry of Magic, but was caught and detained for questioning," Remus informed showing the article on the front page of the newspaper with a large picture showing a vague image of the Ministry's outside. Tonks took the paper and read the article.

"He put up a tough fight," snarled Tonks. "Nearly broken twenty windows to various offices, shooting all sorts of curses in many directions. It was nothing Kingsley and I couldn't handle though," stated Tonks, all confidence showing.

"How impressive," smiled Lupin, preparing Nymphadora a cup of tea.

"Thanks Remus," she smiled, taking a sip and sighing.

Lupin took one look at the exhausted Auror and questioned, "All right there?"

"Your friend over there woke me up," said Tonks pointing a finger at Sirius who grinned, making himself a cup of tea.

"It was about time Pinky woke up," he laughed. "Sleeping her day away, honestly."

"I got in at four," she wined. Then she started laughing at a dull expression on Lupin's face that suggested humor in her whining. Sirius looked from Lupin to Tonks and started laughing himself. She enjoyed just being able to laugh and keep everyone's mood up. Sure awful events made the paper everyday; being able to laugh and share a little cheer gave them a positive outlook. Even though Sirius was confined to the place where he had a terrible childhood, seeing him playing around and laughing gave him some happiness.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Nymphadora went to Molly's to pay her a visit and to see if Errol had returned with a reply from her parents. Knowing Errol's track record also gave her incentive to visit the house.

Upon apparating to the burrow, Tonks knocked on the door, when a gnome caught the corner of her eye. The little creature ran over to the bush near the doorstep and glanced up at the Auror with its little beady eyes. During the summer, Fred and George would de-gnome the garden by swinging the gnomes and tossing them far, but Tonks stopped them, scrutinizing them about being cruel. The little gnome staring up at her was one that was saved from being tossed at that moment during the summer. Tonks knew once she left, Fred and George returned to their method. When she knocked at the chipped oak door again, a voice behind it sounded.

"Who is it?" it questioned.

"Wotcher Arthur, its Tonks," she replied and Mr. Weasley opened the door. "How's work lately?" Tonks questioned politely.

"A nightmare," sighed Arthur, running a hand through his red hair. "More attempted break-ins, except now they won't even bother to wait until after hours, they're trying to blend in with Ministry workers and try midday. I have to return to work this evening." There was an audible sigh in one corner of the room and Tonks looked to see an agitated Molly. "I'm sorry Molly," he apologized. Nymphadora concluded Mrs. Weasley must be lonely now that all her children were at school and her husband was working more and more hours. The older woman stood up and gave Tonks a small hug and greeted her with a 'hello dear.'

"Molly, things at the Ministry are starting to become chaotic," supported Tonks.

"I'll try to be home as soon as possible," Arthur reassured as he kissed his wife and fastened his traveling cloak.

"Be safe dear," reassured Molly as she hugged her husband and he took off. When he was gone, Molly turned to Nymphadora.

"Two days ago, I received a message from Andromeda," she told her young friend, making her a cup of tea. "This little tawny owl was scratching my window one evening so I let the little one inside. Obedient one he was, came right over to my shoulder and held out his leg. I wondered who it would be from, naturally because I had never seen the owl before, so I took the letter and read. Turns out it was from your mum and dad. Sorry if I invaded your privacy, dear," she apologized.

"No problem," smiled Tonks waving it off.

"Turns out, Errol made it to their home and collapsed right in the front yard. Coincidently, Ted was outside taking care of the landscape and brought the owl in immediately. That was when they read the letter." Molly then went to retrieve the letter from the top of an untidy pile of various letters and handed it to her. Both of them sat down at the scrubbed kitchen table. The pale parchment read:

Nymphadora! (Ignoring it.)

It's great to hear from you!! It's been a while. The other night, your father rushed into the house with a very weak owl and immediately took care to help it. That was when we noticed a letter tied to his leg. Not knowing if this was for us or not, I took the letter off and read it anyway. It was wonderful to see it was from our precious daughter. We are nursing your owl to health at the moment and sent our owl instead. Her name is Cocoa. We are currently living in Tani Range, a small mountainous town on the far outskirts of London. Lovely little cape we have. You really must visit us. Your father is still a slob as ever. I hope you are a bit tidier. Please send word you have received this letter. Missing you so much, love Mum and Dad (Ted and Andromeda)

After reading the letter aloud to Molly, Tonks folded it back into a quarter of the original size and put it into her pocket. Handing her a cup of tea, Mrs. Weasley took a sip of a cup she prepared for herself. Nymphadora took a sip of the hot liquid, enjoying the warmth spread throughout her body. The unseasonal chill was masked only by the glowing fire in the fireplace on the Northern wall of the room.

"Awful chill we are experiencing?" started Mrs. Weasley looking at the vague expression on the Auror's face that suggested she was lost in thought.

"Oh," Tonks replied, snapping back to reality. "It's very unusual for this time of year. I rather enjoy it, though. The humid weather does not suit me that well," she smiled.

"So, are you going to visit your parents soon?" wondered Mrs. Weasley.

"I really want to, but I have to see if I can take the time off from work," sighed Tonks. "It'd be nice to have a little time off. Wonder what Rufus Scrimgeour will say."

"You're a very hard worker dear; you should be able to take a little time off."

The two of them then composed a letter stating they received the reply and a thank you for taking care of Errol, which was Mrs. Weasley's old owl and she was going to try and take some time off to visit them because she too missed them very much. Afterward, Molly and she sat and talked for what seemed to be two hours before Tonks bid her goodbye and thanked her for her help.

* * *

The night was beautiful. The cold air seemed to clear the air and the stars seemed to twinkle brightly under the dark, velvet sky and the moon, in its first quarter glory, sat confidently among the stars as if to be a large star itself. Looking out the window, she did not curse the moon for its appearance, but rather basked in its brilliant illumination. It was forty five minutes until midnight and Tonks found herself in the kitchen, searching its surfaces for something sugary or chocolaty. It was an odd craving at that hour, but she just had a sweet tooth. Upon hearing footsteps and knowing it had to be either Sirius or Remus, she kept looking, and said to the person lurking, "There's nothing to eat around here."

"I suggest you cook then," came the voice and immediately she recognized it to belong to Lupin. He lit a candle on the table, but did not sit down. "How could you find anything in here, its pitch dark?"

"It's not pitch dark in here," she defended, pointing a thin finger toward the window where the moon cast a soft, dull glow that seemed to give a miniscule amount of light, so it was not "pitch dark." Realizing the moon and Remus do not fend well together, even though it was not full, lowered her finger with a guilty expression upon her face.

The expression didn't go unnoticed for Remus simply replied, "First quarter, a simple marvel. You want to take a walk with me?" he questioned simply.

"Isn't it a bit late?" she questioned, not really denying the invitation.

"It doesn't bother me," he replied just as simply as his question.

"Me either," smiled Tonks as the pair went to don traveling cloaks and left the house. Walking a few steps, Lupin stopped, held out his hand and told her to grab his hand and he would take her somewhere nice. She agreed and clasped both her hands in his left hand and he apparated by means of side-along, since she did not know where he was taking her, but trusting him.

When they reappeared, the view was spectacular; even though the countryside was dark and all the trees and shrubbery were hued heavily by the darkness, the heavens glowed with what seemed like a million more stars then could be seen in the city and the moon seemed to glow more there. Dark branches swayed and leaves shivered in the night's brisk winds. Nymphadora let go of Lupin's hand and they started walking.

"Where are we?" questioned Tonks looking around.

"About an hour's distance of Hogsmeade," Lupin told as he too admired the stars. "I like to come out here to relax. It is especially nice in the dead of night. About a fifteen minutes walk will lead to a small lake that stands like glass." The two of them then walked in silence for a few minutes.

"You call for me/Alone under the stars/I'll be there for you/because I know you're not far," sang the young woman softly. The man walking alongside her couldn't help but smile.

"I thought you would forget that song, seeing it was stuck in your head a short while ago?" he questioned.

"Well, I did, but a short while ago, I found out the song's name was 'Night Tide' and it just brought the song back into my head. Plus, this view reminded me of it," she informed her Werewolf friend smiling. They continued walking, long into the midnight hour, chatting about various topics and enjoying each other's company. Upon arriving to the lake, they found it as Lupin had described; the lake stood still as though the wind was shielded out and mirrored, transparent as glass, the forest and night sky around them. The two of them sat down near the edge of the lake and Lupin told her there was nothing that would disturb the lake.

Having a curious nature, Tonks picked up the nearest stone and threw it into the lake. The lake only swallowed up the stone without any cases of rippling.

"I told you," he smiled. Tonks then proceeded to take out her wand and pressing the tip to her chin, thought a moment. With a flick toward the ground and a swish forward, she sent a whole slew of rocks into the lake, only to have them swallowed up without much insult. There was a smirk on his face and she knew, even if she wasn't looking at him. Turning her head to see his smirk, he quickly changed his features to appear expressionless, but let out a laugh in the process. Then, he put his knees to his stomach and folded his arms around them. Nymphadora mimicked his pose, feeling a bit cold and held her cloak closer to her small frame. This also went unnoticed by Remus, who took off his traveling cloak and placed it around his companion like a shawl. She felt a sense of comfort with his cloak and knew he was there for her, but felt distraught by the fact that he would be cold.

"You didn't have to do that," said Tonks reluctantly starting to remove the cloak, but Remus stopped her.

"I noticed you shivering a bit and I'm not all too cold. C'mon, let's start heading back," he suggested, standing up and offering his hand to her. She accepted and he helped her up, noticing her hands was cold, but felt warm in his and did not want to let go. Nymphadora felt the same way for her hand remained in his as they stood there a moment and just glanced at their hands clasped together.

Remus pulled away, realizing what he was doing. He had wanted to hold her hand, had wanted to put his arm around her and shield her from the cold and any harm that would come her way, but couldn't. The part inside him wanting to be with Tonks was blocked out by thoughts of his werewolf form; he was not going to get close to her only to end up hurting her. Recalling the many quarrels they had about wanting a relationship, he actually wanted one with her. There was just always something holding him back…

They walked back in silence, only because Tonks wanted to walk the ways back instead of just apparating on the spot. Her mind swam with many thoughts after he took his hand back. She wanted to stay like that; walking back, hand in hand. Maybe then, he would see she was serious about him and all the arguments were not in vain. Why did he linger with her hand anyway? Was he starting to let her in? She wanted to talk about it with him, but thought otherwise, knowing he took his hand away for a reason. When they got to the spot in which they apparated to earlier, Remus stopped and Tonks clasped both hands into his left hand and they apparated together to Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

Afterward, Tonks did not let his hand go yet right away as they appeared on the doorstep. Noticing the pleading look in her eyes, Remus looked away, muttered, "I'm sorry," and opened the door, letting her hand go. He went upstairs while she went to the living room and sat down on the couch, sighing. The room did not hold much comfort as it had the last time she was there late at night. Not a candle was lit and Nymphadora was not about to light one. Disappointed and sadness weighed her down and was her only company at the moment. 'He felt it too,' she tried to reassure herself. 'He held on so I know he felt it.'

'Might as well go to bed, got a shift in the morning,' thought the disappointed Auror as she slowly stood up and went to bed.


	5. The Early Shift

The moon still claimed the sky as two Aurors walked the streets of Hogsmeade in the few hours before dawn. There had a been rumors that a gang of Wizards were going to perform a mass robbery of the small town, so Nymphadora Tonks and Hestia Jones were stationed there to prevent it from happening or debunk the rumor. A ministry worker overheard a pair of wizards huddled together in Knockturn Alley, speaking of the alleged plan to happen in the early hours before any stores were to open. The man then passed the word on to the head of the Auror office, Rufus Scrimgeour, and he sent out two of his Aurors to see that the viable act does not occur.

At 3:00 A.M the pair was called in early, instead of their previous arranged 7 A.M. shift and were given all the details of their newly assigned shift and set out to patrol Hogsmeade at 4 A.M. Not a soul was stirring at that hour and the town, normally seen as bustling with excitement of people heading to and from their destinations, was empty, giving off a chilling edge. Nevertheless, the two women walked its streets, alert for anything suspicious, yet chatting away as any women would do.

"I received a letter from my parents," told the now dark purple haired woman watching her breath fog in front of her as she faced her comrade.

"Aww, that's nice. How long has it been since you last been home?" Hestia questioned smiling. Hestia was a short woman, with long black hair, in her late twenties. Tonks looked off to the side considering the last time she paid a visit to her parents since she moved out. "That long huh?" laughed Hestia seeing it had been a while from watching the pondering expression on Tonks's face.

Tonks laughed also. "I wrote back to them saying I was going to visit them very soon, seeing if I'm able to get some time off. Scrimgeour does not seem very fond of me though. Always looking at me so suspiciously, he does, like I'm going to turn into a Death Eater at any moment."

"He gives the same look to Kingsley as he does you; I've seen him. It's like he thinks both of you are going to gang up and overthrow him," laughed Hestia.

"If he knew half of us (Aurors) were in the Order of the Phoenix, he'd be furious. Siding with that madman Dumbledore, are you, he would yell."

They continued to patrol the streets commenting on the stores they passed. Hestia told her of a particularly embarrassing moment of her first visit to Honeydukes; about a boy who bullied her, so when he saw her enter the store, threw a huge wad of Droobles best blowing gum into her hair and made her cry. When asked how she had the gum removed, she replied shuddering, Madam Pomfrey used a few charms to break up the gum and pulled out quite a few strands in the process, but nothing major.

"What happened to the little git?" questioned Tonks looking out at the end of the road, to see the Shrieking Shack as haunting as ever in the moonlight.

"Well, when I passed him in the corridor that evening, let's just say he was very confused and his knees were reversed for a while," smirked the black haired witch.

"Kind of reminds me of my first year when an older student told me Tooth flossing string mints actually flossed your teeth for you. Ended up cutting my gums though, it did. That put me off those for life," laughed Tonks.

Closely approaching the Shack now, Hestia saw the distant look on Nymphadora's face and knew what she was thinking about.

"Thinking about Remus again, eh?" taunted Hestia smirking and turning her glance to the Haunted House.

"What? No," lied Tonks unconvincingly.

"You stare at him for long periods of time in Order meetings, you talk about him a lot, so you must fancy him?" she questioned.

"I—" Tonks was cut off by a long whooshing sound and both Aurors quickly turned around to see five men dressed in black cloaks, standing on the roof of a local shop.

Everyone must've had the same idea because at that exact moment the seven people shouted, "EXPELLIARMUS!" The spells extinguished all collided in midair and cancelled out. Hestia and Tonks nodded toward one another and in an instant went off in the opposite directions of one another and started shooting curses at the five assailants who scattered. One man, presumably the leader, was a tall man with long brown hair concealed in a ponytail. He was giving orders to the others to split up and try to surround the two women.

"If you're thinking the two of us are just some innocent girls, you're badly mistaken!" spat Tonks as she shot a jinx at a man with short red hair's legs and he fell off the roof. Knowing he was down for the count, Tonks ran further into the town to find and take down the men who disappeared from the rooftop. Occasionally, she would keep an ear out to hear Hestia shouting curses to make sure she was still in the fight.

"You're not going to be using your arms and hands anytime soon!" shouted Hestia triumphantly and her companion took that as another wizard down. 'Two down, three to go,' thought Tonks as she kept up her search. A jinx had just missed her by mere inches as it was blasted out of an alleyway and into the large window of Honeydukes, shattering it to pieces. The leader remained on the roof and glanced around innocently as if to never have been to Hogsmeade before. Hestia noticed the leader not entering the fight and ducked behind an alley and shot an inaudible curse at the man who turned at the last moment gracefully and the attack shot past him, taking a chimney off a roof and sending it soaring.

"Wonder why two women are here in the dead of morning?" he wondered aloud, now being in earshot of Tonks.

"Because two of your lot have big mouths!" shouted Tonks keeping an eye out for the man she was currently trying to disarm and the man on the roof.

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" shouted the man doing combat with Hestia and sent deep lacerations into her cheek and left shoulder. The woman winced in pain as the cuts burned and started oozing crimson blood, but sent a Conjunctivitus charm at her attacker and caught him off balance. Seeing now his vision was lost, she expelled his wand, caught it and sent a few more curses at him causing him to lose consciousness.

"Are you alright?" screamed Tonks approaching closer to Hestia with her fight. Both looked at each a quick moment, noticing they each had a number of scratches and bruises on their arms and faces, Hestia's heavy laceration and resumed their fighting.

"I'm fine," Hestia gasped through heaving breaths keeping a firm hold on both hers and the unconscious assailant's wand.

Tonks's attacker set two quick spells at her, with only one being successful for she dived out of the way and caught a sliver of the red jet to the knee. It started to bleed weakly, but did not interfere with walking.

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" bellowed Nymphadora as she drew a quick harsh line in a diagonal direction against her attacker who immediately started spurting blood as a long laceration was slashed across his face and wand arm as he dropped his wand, putting a hand to his chest where the spell also hit his chest and abdomen.

"Two more to go," whispered Tonks, grabbing the dropped wand as she came back to back with Hestia who was trying hard to maintain her composure.

"How are you feeling?" questioned Tonks as she and Hestia looked around quickly for either the leader and the other man who were now nowhere to be seen. Glass littered the street and a door or two hung off its hinges.

"Took a few spells back there, but I'm alright, and yourself?"

"Nothing major," she told as they continued their search. Seconds later, a furious jet of black light came spiraling to the left of Tonks and she jumped out of the way, pushing Hestia away for she was looking in the opposite direction.

"Show yourself, you coward!" Hestia yelled as she stood up quickly and she took guard behind Tonks, keeping an eye in her direction in case one of them hid there. The final man standing apparated onto the roof in Tonks's direction and shot another curse in their direction. Thick black fog, almost solid, circled the two Aurors and Hestia put up a shield charm as Nymphadora shot a variety of jinxes in all directions and deciding quickly, grabbed Hestia's arm firmly and apparated them to the top of Zonko's Joke Shop. Not knowing if the two women were still in the circle of opaque fog, the man with short Jet black hair shot a few stunning spells into it.

"Expelliarmus!" cried Hestia quietly and disarmed the last man, in which Tonks caught his wand, and with a "Levicorpus" sent him thrashing into the wall of the Joke Shop and he lost too was out. With an almost incomprehensible utter, a blast of sparkling royal blue light hit the roof, and split into two; one wave hit Tonks in the left arm and the other ray hit Hestia in the back. Hestia fell down with a loud yell and slid off the roof, landing in the back of the shop.

"HESTIA!!!" cried Tonks as she quickly glanced down the side as her arm gave a fierce jolt. Thankfully, it wasn't her wand arm and she was able to fight. There was no response from her below and Tonks hoped against hope she wasn't dead. Immediately, she sent out a patronus to the Auror office with a quick note "Hestia is down, send backup!" Her patronus shot into the air and was gone. Another jolt sent the young Auror into a panic. The jolts in her arm felt like moderate shocks. This battle had to end soon, otherwise there were going to be some problems.

Apparating onto the roof, the leader smirked as Tonks's left arm hung limp now and jolted every other minute.

"Like my curse?" he smirked calmly. "Hasn't been seen for centuries, I presume. You probably haven't heard of it!" he laughed.

"What's wrong, mad (she winced as another jolt shot straight up her arm) someone spoiled your plan!?" glared Tonks venomously.

"Theft was only part of the plan, we were assigned for so much more. Your friend is going to die soon," he stated silkily as if they were just sitting around conversating.

"DEFODIO!" shouted Tonks as she set to gouge his wand arm off, but seeing as he was about to apparate, quickly muttered the anti-disapparation charm and seeing the sudden change in spells and anger coursing through her body, a large blast erupted from her wand and the man wasn't quick enough to escape and was engulfed. Now, he wasn't able to disapparate and this led Tonks to a small advantage. The two started fighting aggressively, sending spells this way and that, trying to knock the other off the roof; Tonks had a few close calls when her arm would jolt and she would lose her balance, but caught herself at the last moment. However, when her arm would settle after the shock, it would throb for a few moments afterward and seem to get worse with every passing period of pain.

A few contacts among each other and more bruises later, Mad-eye Moody, Dawlish and Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared at the beginning of town and saw the sparring match on the roof. The trio immediately apparated to the roof and assisted in the fight.

"HELP HESanother winceTIA DOWN THERE!!!" Tonks yelled desperately pointing with her hurting hand to the ground. Kingsley nodded and went to the ground where he noticed the fallen Auror, who, a moments later, seized as if a bolt of lightning had just struck her. Shacklebolt immediately picked her up, who then stopped shaking and apparated, yelling out St. Mungos. The leader jumped to the next nearby roof which belonged to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop and had a much narrower rooftop than the ones surrounding it.

Moody yelled out, "EXPULSO!" not at the assailant himself, but at the roof in which he stood on. The roof exploded with a loud bang that would wake up the surrounding area, if they weren't already awoken; there was not enough time to take a good look around. No one was in the immediate area so that was a relief. The man fell through with the roof and landed with a dull thud as the smoke cleared to reveal only a few bruises. Dawlish, Moody and Tonks went over to the hole and with one unified nod, yelled, "STUPEFY!" The three separate spells joined together as one and shot through into the hole and with a chaotic blast, the Aurors all apparated to the ground as the quill shop erupted and the second floor's walls shattered and fell. A huge gaping hole revealed the inside of the shop's second floor and now needed desperate repair. When all became calm, the leader of the group lay unconscious underneath some rubble.

"There are four unconscious men around here," Tonks informed and Dawlish nodded, going around and rounding up the men, tying them together with the swish of his wand.

"OWW!" yelled Tonks as her arm erupted in another jolt and gave a violent spasm.

"What's wrong Nymphadora?" questioned Moody concernedly as he came close to his fellow Auror to see what caused her pain. For once, Tonks did not become angry by being called her first name.

"I was hit and (through gritted teeth as the pain continued) Hestia also, was hit by a sparkling jet of sparkling royal blue (shudder) jet and it feels like," Tonks was starting to breathe heavily as she continued. "Lightning is shocking through my system and it (wince) gets worse and worse each time," she told as she cradled her arm.

"Let me see your arm," he commanded calmly as Nymphadora pulled up her sleeve to reveal a very pale arm. "Espuzsam," he muttered with a worried expression.

"What is that?" she wondered, panic building up due to Mad-Eye's concerned expression.

"You need to head to St. Mungo's quickly," he warned. "Is everything taken care of here?"

"Everyone's defeated," she proclaimed, seeing Dawlish send the man with the ponytail into the rounded up group and with a quick word of "straight to Azkaban," apparated.

"What about the town?" chocked out Tonks as another wave of pain started to radiate from her shoulder to her neck.

"We can straighten it up later, let's go," shouted Moody as he grabbed her good arm and apparated her to St. Mungos. It was still dark outside.

* * *

Upon appearing at St. Mungos, Nymphadora stopped Alastor and demanded to know what was wrong with her.

"If you don't get immediate help, not only will you lose your arm, but the shocks will generate throughout your body and not stop until it shuts down your entire system," he growled and then they walked into the Hospital. Another shock started and was much worse than the last for not only did she let out a shriek, but the pain radiated into her abdomen. When they reached the desk, a friendly looking, chubby witch sat at the desk, apparently busy at work writing quickly with a short quill. Upon hearing footsteps, she looked up with a small welcoming smile.

"She was struck with Espuzsam," rushed Moody.

"Fourth floor, quickly!" she commanded and they were off. Tonks wanted to ask the witch at the desk how HeHHessssfhghfdsHestia was holding up, but as another wave of pain started, she quickened her step as they made their way to the fourth floor. At the beginning of the ward another desk sat on the left side of the tall white walls.

"Espuzsam!" Tonks yelled through gritted teeth as she was finding it harder and harder to maintain her composure at the moment.

"Right here," squealed the short, very thin woman at the desk putting an arm around the injured woman and quickly leading her to the room with the number 269 on the top; telling Alastor Moody that he had to stay outside while they healed her. With a nod, he went to go check on Hestia.

* * *

Two hours later, Nymphadora Tonks emerged from room 269 with a sling supporting her arm, wrapped in bandages and a thick, pale pink coating of glowing Robeda potion concealing the pale condition. The sleeve of her robe had been cut at the shoulder to reveal the arm. The cuts were cleaned. Mad-eye Moody was standing outside in the same spot in which she left him in, leaning against the wall. He looked up, upon hearing the door open.

"Have you been there the whole time?" she questioned, leaning against the wall, mimicking his pose.

"No, I went to check on Hestia," he told with no hint of good news in his tone and held an emotionless expression.

"Is she alright?!" commanded Tonks, a feeling of something heavy dropping in her stomach, jumping up in alarm.

"They don't know yet," muttered Alastor, the worry he wore before, returning. Sadness engulfed Tonks as she looked at the ground.

"We were doing just fine…out of nowhere… he shot this sparkling royal blue light and we dodged it, but it bounced off the roof and split in half connecting with each of us…I was only hit in the arm, but Hestia was struck in the back and she…" she prevented herself from breaking down by taking a deep breath, but wouldn't allow herself to look at her companion. Instead, she looked at the wall in the distance down the hall. The walls were all white and held the air held the smell of healing potions and cleaning solution. "She fell off the roof and I…I couldn't help her because I had to fight…" Tonks did not want to continue and felt tears starting to brew behind her eyes and tried very hard to contain them.

"You know the code of the Auror, "Fight until the job is done." When you are in the middle of a fight and one of your own falls, you send for backup and continue the fight. It you stopped, then you're letting your guard down and creating more injuries if struck. Hestia knows it and you also, that's why you sent out your patronus and kept up the fight. What's important is we were able to get you two here as soon as possible and your mission was completed successfully." Tonks still found it hard to look Moody in the eye and focused on the cadet blue, flecked, marble floor instead.

"She's strong," muttered Alastor reassuringly as he kept his eyes on the purple-haired Auror who finally raised her head to look into Moody's face, tears threatening to fall; and fall they did. Moody wrapped his arms delicately around the upset Auror and she sobbed into his shoulder, wrapping her good arm around his neck. She let out all her frustration from over the past few days; the concern of Hestia, hoping she would get time off to see her parents, Remus…

* * *

When Tonks had finally let it all out, Alastor took her up to the Tea Room where he got her a cup of tea and explained to her what Espuzsam was all about and the group of Wizards who had created it in the early 1700s, after hearing Tonks tell him the Healer did not explain much, but kept her in a lot of pain. They around in a room full of wooden, maroon chairs bedecked with several small tables and a shop far along the back wall.

"It'll fully heal in one or two weeks," summed up Moody, draining his cup of tea.

"That's what they told me, and it may twang a bit from time to time," Tonks stated, looking down at her wounded arm, noticing the potion was changing from a pale pink to a dull orange and heated up slightly. Tonks winced at the sensation, but ignored it. "When can we go see Hestia?"

"We have to check at the desk in an hour," he told.

"Oh," she sighed, taking a small sip of her tea. "Where's Kingsley?"

"I caught up with him after you went in, we exchanged details and he went to the office to give the report. I also sent a short message to the Order."

Just as Moody gave the bit of information, Remus Lupin walked into the visitor's area and noticing Moody and Tonks, went over to them. Tonks jumped up and wrapped her arm around him in which he returned the hug, gentle not to touch her injury, all memory of the previous night forgotten. He greeted Alastor with a nod, in which he returned and he and Tonks sat down.

"All right there?" he questioned, a look of relief to see she wasn't in any serious condition, but faded slowly. "I went over to the desk and they told me it would be an hour before we would be able to see Hestia," Lupin sighed running a hand through his graying hair and looking up at the ceiling. Lupin was filled in on all the details of all that had happened during the mission and the injuries of her and Hestia. This time, Nymphadora maintained her composure, with all hope that she would be able to see Hestia was alright in one hour. A small clock on the wall blared 6:45 A.M.

Half an hour into waiting and watching Mad-Eye pace the floor in an aggravated limp, Nymphadora crossed her good arm under her bad arm and leaned against Lupin who sat right next to her. He made no objection and looked down to see her closing her eyes.

"I'm not sleeping," she informed him, feeling his eyes on her. Alastor looked at the pair and knew they had a thing for one another, but made no comment as he sat down to drink his second cup of tea. Hoping to be unnoticed by the older Auror, Remus put an arm around the middle of Nymphadora's back and she moved slightly closer. Though unsaid, Alastor saw it all. Having a "mad-eye" allowed you to see everything.

* * *

Four Order of the Phoenix members stood outside room 248, similar anticipated expressions plastered on each face. When the Healer came out of the room, there was no expression on her face until she saw the four people standing there, a small smile took over.

"She will be fine," assured the short woman in lime green robes and short blond hair. "We just rennervated her so give her a few moments." The Healer opened the door and led the four of them into the room where Hestia lay on her stomach, covered up except for a large area was cut out of the back of her robe and the dull orange potion was plastered over her back. Her left leg was bandaged up as was her right arm. The sectumsepra slash was cleaned and starting to heal. A short wand lay on the bedside table. She laid her head sideways and upon hearing the door open and many footsteps, replied, "Hello everyone." All four of them walked over to her side and greeted her. Seeing Lupin and Tonks standing side by side, she gave the purple haired witch a small smirk.

Then she stared at her orange pasted arm and Tonks noticed for she told her,"It's all over your back," and smiled. Her expression then turned serious. "You all right there?"

"I will be," Hestia sighed. The group then proceeded to tell her what happened afterward and that the situation was taken care of; all except for the condition of the town, which would have to be repaired.

"When are you expected to be discharged?" Lupin questioned thoughtfully, seeing the woman become a bit cheerier with the company she had.

"In two days, they told me. Wish it was sooner though, I really hate hospitals," she spat. "When are you leaving Tonks?"

"It wasn't bad for me so I leave today," Tonks informed with a sympathetic look towards Hestia. "After they remove this gunk," both of them laughed at the comment.

A little while later, Lupin had to return to Headquarters, so with a sympathetic touch on Hestia's shoulder and a hug for Tonks, he left. Kingsley had to return to the Auror Office to help Dawlish with the report. However, Alastor remained behind and would wait for Tonks. He knew she had a hard time with Scrimgeour and wanted to be there to back her up when she had to report to him.

The short witch with the lime green robes knocked twice on the door and entered. "Miss Tonks, can you come with me so we can remove the potion?"

"I'll be right there," Tonks said and she and Moody made to leave. When the first two left the room, the young woman lingered behind a moment and said, "The answer to your question is yes." She smiled and walked out.

* * *

This is my longest chapter yet! Please review, I'd love to know what you think; good or bad. Hope you enjoy! 


	6. Let it all out

Mad-eye Moody accompanied Nymphadora as she had the potion removed and her arm was rebadged. Her arm still took on a very pale tinge, but was not hurting, yet felt numb and lay limp in her sling. Her companion watched as the Auror was given a few instructions with a small bottle of a thick raspberry colored liquid. She was only to take it if there were any sudden pains, but to return immediately if there were any sharp, persistent radiating pains. He knew if he did not remind her about it, she would forget to take it or refuse, seeing the look of disgust she gave the bottle.

"Now we have to report to Scrimgeour," told Tonks bitterly as the duo made its way out of the hospital and onto the busy streets of London. Moody took off his traveling cloak and placed it over his companion due to her missing sleeve and few tears that made her vulnerable to the chill winds. She accepted it with a smile and he gave a nod, his face warm. Moody then conjured a black bowler hat and placed it on his head to shadow his mad-eye. The sun was fully risen now and hung in the sky, but was partially covered by puffy clouds littering the sky. The many inhabitants walking the streets rushed to their jobs with an occasional, "I'm late," or "Where did I put my…" A few people stopped and stared upon the sight of a woman with purple hair and a bandaged arm, but did not seem to linger on Alastor who looked to be like any other commuter heading to work. When they headed in a vacant alleyway out of sight, both Aurors Apparated to the Ministry of Magic.

The Ministry of Magic was just as busy as the streets of London were. Many witches and wizards made their way to their destinations, quite a few with newspapers in hand, while others chatted away about current events and such. Posters ringing Anti-Dumbledore gestures sat scattered around the area and the two Aurors had an urge to blast them off the walls. Quite a few witches and wizards in the Ministry favored Dumbledore and his beliefs, but wouldn't dare express their opinions for fear they would lose their jobs. On the other hand, some expressed their distaste freely, knowing it wouldn't harm them.

"Wonder how they are going to word the incident at Hogsmeade in tomorrow's paper," Tonks asked Moody, looking around to see if anyone knew about the events already and were talking about it.

"Word travels fast now-a-days," Moody growled, pointing to the newspaper of the nearest wizard, who seemed more engrossed in the article on the front page than where he was going, occasionally bumping into someone. Making no apology, the short, balding man kept on with his reckless walking.

"It can't be in the paper already," Nymphadora groaned as she saw the image taking up most of the area on the front page. It displayed a picture of everyday Hogsmeade with the word BEFORE… and then changed to Hogsmeade after she and the other Aurors finished the fight and bore the word AFTER… The caption underneath it sent Tonks and Moody over the edge: Lax Acts Destroy Hogsmeade.

"What do they mean lax acts? The Quill shop can be repaired and the windows can be fixed in a snap," she growled in outrage and snatched a newspaper from the nearest person walking by. The tall gangly man protested as the crowds pushed them along, but made no effort to retrieve the paper.

"Nymphadora!" yelled Moody as she started to read the article aloud to him, for the second time that day, ignoring her first name. He put a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from walking into the passerby as he listened to her read.

The incident on Hogsmeade could've been handled without so much destruction. One man choosing to remain anonymous tipped off the ministry of overhearing a group of men plotting to rob out the town and then destroy it. Upon receiving this piece of information, Rufus Scrimgeour, head of the Auror Office, sent out two of his Aurors to debunk the rumor or take care of the situation, should one arrive. Nymphadora Tonks and Hestia Jones soon found out the rumor was not just gossip as they were attacked by five cloaked men later to be revealed as the Pentadmagus. Thought to have died out centuries ago, this gang of wizards carried on in which their ancestors could not. One Auror, Dawlish, informs us upon questioning, the five men were sent to Azkaban for conspiracy to destroy the town altogether with the help of a little Verditaserum. He would not tell us anything else however.

"Now I know who they are," roared Mad-Eye as he continued to guide her in the direction towards the Aurors Office. She looked up at him a moment and he encouraged her to keep reading.

The five men were taken down along with damage to the storefront of Honeyduke's Sweet Shop, a few roofs were taken off, doors were unhinged, many windows were blasted and spectacular damage was inflicted upon Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, where it now lies in rubble.

"THAT'S A LIE!" yelled Tonks, glaring at Moody who had the same expression on his face and not at all surprised by her outburst. A few people stopped at her sudden outburst; however those who had read the article recognized her and stopped to get a better look at her. The two quickened their paces and the onlookers continued on their way. "The second floor is only damaged! When we left, the first floor was alright. They just want their story to sound impressive!" Just as she was about to protest some more, they were at the Aurors Office and the other half of the article was still yet to be read. The two of them headed inside to see Kingsley Shacklebolt sitting at the nearest cubicle hard at work, writing furiously.

"Wotcher Kingsley," Nymphadora greeted as she angrily stomped over to him.

"All right there?" he wondered, putting down his quill and looking up from his work. Scrimgeour is expecting you," he told grimly.

"Oh great," she sighed, aggravated. "He's probably read the Prophet and is furious about what it says. They're exaggerating about the damage. Scrivenshafts is still standing!" she yelled, slamming the Daily Prophet onto his workspace, accidently toppling the bottle of ink, and staining the document he was working on.

"I'm so sorry," she shrieked, moving the newspaper to the other side of the desk and taking out her wand. Knowing Tonks's history with cleaning spells, Kingsley took out his wand and cleaned up the mess for her. She replaced her wand and sighed again.

"Nymphadora Tonks," came a gruff voice and Alastor, Kingsley and Tonks looked around to see Rufus Scrimgeour standing in the doorway to his office. He was a stern man with yellow eyes and gave off the expression of someone that shouldn't be crossed with. The many scars he bore showed he'd been in many battles and his hair gave him the slight appearance of a lion. The robes of black he wore, only encouraged his cold nature.

Moody and Tonks prepared to enter his office, the young Auror's hair shifting to its angry red hue, but Scrimgeour stopped them.

"I want to have a word with Nymphadora first," he growled simply, his eyes remaining on her injured arm. She turned to look at Moody, who gave her a nod and entered the office. Mad-eye headed back over to Shacklebolt.

"What is this!?" Scrimgeour yelled, picking up the Prophet he had on his messy desk and shoving it in her face. Instinct took over and she shoved it away, a glare on her face. Her hair remained crimson and appeared to getter darker with each passing moment.

"It's an exaggeration, that's what it is!" Tonks yelled. "Scrivenshaft is still standing! Some places were damaged, but we did what we had to do. All the Pentadmagus's were caught and sent to Azkaban! Hestia's in St. Mungos right now, but all you care about—"

"We don't need this kind of publicity!" he interrupted, slamming his copy onto the desk.

"Does it say anything in there about the curse we had to endure!?" Tonks yelled, trying to edge her bandaged arm upward with no anvil and slamming her other hand on his desk, the vibrations sending the bottle of ink sitting dangerously close to the edge, splattering to the ground. This time she did not apologize as she kept her eyes on his. He did not make any notion to clean up the mess just yet. It was not the first time she had an arguing match with the head of the Auror office and kept her ground.

"You need to learn some respect," Scrimgeour glared maliciously as he sat down in the oak chair behind the desk. Tonks remained standing, her expression never changing, her eyes now turning a stony red.

"I can't believe you, having much experience as an Auror, would b—"

"Enough!" shouted Rufus Scrimgeour, anger over the young Auror's lip causing him to stand up. "You have a knack for disrespecting me and talking back and I do not appreciate it. As an Auror, you are to do your job and report to me. Contradicting me an—"

"You've received the report from Kingsley!" Tonks bellowed, seeing the mix of shock and anger corrupting the fury his features delivered. The shock came from her constant need to interrupt her boss and the anger over her contradicting his belief the Prophet had the right information; making his Aurors seem careless, therefore embarrassing him.

"That is the third time you have interrupted me. If you wish to continue as an Auror, you're going to have to learn to respect your superiors. You're injured; two weeks should allow you to heal and enable you to learn to muffle your need to interrupt. That is all."

Without a word, Tonks nodded and walked out of the office, slamming the door in the process. Alastor and Kingsley looked up to see the angry woman, hair at its deepest crimson yet, storming over to the pair. On the way there, she was so wrapped up in her anger; she did not see the waste bin and tripped over it, sending crumpled bits of parchment all over the floor. She then kicked the bin with her boot, sending it over to the other side of the room, scattering the rest of the rubbish. Luckily, the trio were the only people in the office at the moment.

"Calm down Tonks," warned Moody delicately, watching her fume.

"Treats me like a school student, he does. No respect, he says. What wouldn't I give to sen—"she growled, clutching her wand in her pocket, her angry rant interrupted when the door to the Head of the Auror house opened.

"I would like a word Alastor," he told gruffly, noticing the crimson-haired Auror still in the office, but made no motion to acknowledge her. Moody walked in the office, nodding to Tonks and Kingsley as he went and Rufus shut the door behind them.

Kingsley flicked his wand and cleaned up the office, then turned to her. "What happened?" he questioned.

"Scrimgeour wants to believe what the newspaper says. When I tell him it's a lie, all he cares about is the reputation of himself; like it all falls on him. He didn't even ask about Hestia!" Nymphadora ranted, now sitting on the edge of the desk Kingsley was working at.

"I know how you feel, but you need to stop arguing with him. Alastor and I could hear you out here, not sure what you were saying, but we heard you yelling. You're a strong Auror, but if you keep bumping heads, you might not be able to keep your job. He already suspects you and I of "suspicious activity," so watch what you say," Kingsley consoled with his strong yet calming voice. "Did he say anything about your arm?"

"Not really, but he gave me two weeks off to heal and…" she glared at the floor, "Enable myself to shut up or something." She thought for a moment and looked up at the man she was ranting to. "I can finally take a visit home to see my parents." As she talked with Kingsley, her hair returned to its bubble gum pink shade. Kingsley somehow had a therapeutic effort on people and she felt better after consoling with him.

* * *

Tonks left the office before Mad-eye came out of Scrimgeour's. She did not want to be there in case he wanted to pick up on their argument and also wanted to follow along the advice Kingsley had given her; "Watch what you say, he already suspects you and I of "suspicious activity."

A long walk home was the ticket to calm her nerves. In some way, felt good to walk through the crowds of commuters and not feel lonely, yet not know anyone around her; only her thoughts kept her company. There were no signs of any Prophets in the crowd and that was a small relief. The clouds in the sky had since thickened and bonded, covering the sky in gray gloominess.

'Kind of how I feel inside,' Tonks thought, looking at the sky along with a few other people who grumbled and muttered about the rain coming. 'With my luck, it'll rain before I get home.'

Feeling the fatigue of all the previous events after a while, the Auror decided she walked enough and with finding a secluded spot, Apparated to her home. It was about a quarter to ten in the morning when she walked in. The house was seemingly empty and Tonks seemed to like it that way; Sirius didn't even seem to be around. Not a light was on and the living room once again held the comfort it had that night she walked in on Remus. She set a moderate fire in the fireplace with the swish of her wand before heading upstairs.

Nymphadora decided to change, with a little struggle, out of her torn and work-worn robes and into a pair of dark plaid pajama pants (gotta love them) and her favorite vintage Weird Sisters t-shirt. Moody's cloak was thrown haphazardly onto the bed with the thought of returning it to him later. The potion she was to take with any sign of pain was placed on her nightstand and was given another look of disdain. It mocked her back with its still contents. Her wand was placed into her pants pocket. Taking the warm, pink afghan off her bed, she took it downstairs and lay down on the couch and covered herself up, deciding it would be warmer to be near the fire. There wasn't to be any meeting there today so the peace would be maintained.

Soft pattering on the windows told her the rain that had been threatening to fall, started. Echoes of the wind could be heard and felt through precarious drafts. Sighing, the soft sounds of the rain deemed soothing and she snuggled into her blanket, closing her eyes and letting all traces of thought escape her.

* * *

Tonks did not know what time it was when she woke up, but knew only two things: the fire was burning just as warmly as if just light and she was very warm. Tenacious dreams clouded her train of thought, but lost all meaning when she tried to recall them. The rain could now be heard battering the long windows as it came down in sheets and whipped by the fierce winds. Opening her eyes, she noted the fireplace being the only light in the dim room and an auburn comforter covering her small form, the pink afghan hidden beneath it. Whoever saw the Auror sleeping there, must've thought she was cold and covered her with an extra blanket. It did not take her long to discover who had put it there for once she sat up and looked around, she came to see Remus Lupin sitting in the armchair to the right of her, asleep himself. Smiling to herself, she thought he looked very relaxed as he slept there, but odd that he was sleeping there. It was very rare to see Lupin sleeping during the day.

Tonks stood up and stretched her arm and legs. With the comforter in hand, the small women went over to the armchair and covered the sleeping man with it. Reacting to the light pressure upon him, Remus opened his eyes and upon noticing Tonks, smiled.

"All right there?" he questioned as he adjusted the comforter so it lay in his lap and stretched his arms a bit.

"I've been better," she replied with a slight smile as she made her way back to the couch she was previously sleeping on, taking her blanket and setting it into her lap. "Wonder what time it is?" she wondered looking around. A black-framed clock on the far wall told them it was half-past two.

"You were having a bit of a nightmare there," told Remus concernedly as he went over to her and handed her the comforter. She looked at him puzzled until he put the comforter at the other end of the couch and sat down in the middle, next to her.

"I was?" Tonks asked and looked up for a moment and then back at him. "Can't really remember what I was dreaming about. It seemed to escape me when I woke up."

"For a while before I dozed off, you must've been dreaming about your mission with Hestia because you shouted her name a few times and then were muttering incoherently," he informed. "I decided to stay here in case it got worse. After a bit, you seemed calm, but I stayed anyway."

"I don't always dream about it." He looked at her. "The jobs I receive as an Auror, this has to be the first one in a while," she told him, feeling a little distraught. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and moving her pink hair out of her face, she turned to Remus.

"You're just a bit worried about Hestia, nothing wrong with that," Lupin tried to console, but the long face she wore told him it was bothering her. In turn, Remus lightly took her hand in both of his and held it. She looked up surprised, but relaxed on seeing the look of reassurance on his face. The last time she had held his hand, his insecurities would set in and he would draw back, but this time it was he who reached out for her hand. Feelings of warmth and joy overlapped the dread she felt for letting her worry express itself in her sleep and for a long moment the two of them just sat there looking at one another.

After a while, Lupin let go of her hand. Immediately, Tonks thought he was going to repeat what he had said the last time they were in the similar situation, but those thoughts faded away as he wrapped his arm around her and retook her hand in his.

"Quite a few times, nightmares have plagued my sleep of hurting many while I go through my werewolf form. Some had seemed quite real and I would awake, wondering if I had actually hurt anyone. Never could recall dreaming when I transformed though," he told. "It does not mean you are weak." Nymphadora's arm gave a small jolt, unnoticed by the man holding her. "It's still causing you pain?"

"No," she lied, thinking of the retched potion sitting on her nightstand. "Sometimes it'll jolt, but it's nothing," she covered with a small smile. Lupin squeezed her hand and she laced her fingers with in his.

After a few moments, Tonks looked into his eyes and said, "I knew you loved me."

In that exact moment, Lupin broke eye contact and turned away. In letting go of her hand he spoke to the floor, "I seem to be misleading you. I've told you, I will always be there if you ever need any help, but we shouldn't become anything more…"

Tonks felt betrayed. He had wrapped his arms around her like he actually wanted to be with her. He held her hand like he never wanted to let go. When she was in St. Mungos, he held her close, making sure she knew he was there. Was it all in vain? Was it…pity? The woman with the now flaming hair jumped up and prepared to give her betrayer a piece of her mind.

"Is that all there is? Pity on me! Anytime something awful happens to me, you're there to comfort me and all the times you held me was for what…pity for the weak woman! Did you hold my hand like I was some weak child scared from a nightmare?! I'm not weak! I bloody love you and all you can tell me is we had to be friends!"

Her last line caught Remus off-guard. Did she just say she loved him? She couldn't possibly love him? The werewolf inside him then reminded him, who could _love_ a werewolf?

"I am not showing you pity. It' just—"

"What if I got hurt tomorrow? Would you only be there for me because I was weak?"

"You're not—"

"I don't want to hear it! You know what; I don't need your pity! Keep your paws off of me, Re—that did not come out right." She really did not mean it to come out that way, but was not thinking through before letting her angry words fly. Lupin, on the other hand, did not seem fazed by the comment; at least he didn't show it.

"You finally see me for who I really am and that is why we can't be together," he said before leaving the room, leaving Nymphadora standing alone. She could not stay rooted to the spot and not stay in the same house as he was right now. Taking the stairs two at a time, Tonks changed her pajama pants to a pair of jeans, donned her black robes and boots and headed for the door; leaving before Remus could see the tears streaming down her cheeks.

* * *


	7. What I forgot

_Vague__ sound of rain_

_Pierces__ through my song again_

_But__ I get distracted by the way his toes move when he plays_

_So__ I let it burn_

"It was for her own good," blared the angry werewolf in his head. "You would only end up hurting her anyway; let her go before it happens." Then another voice popped into the man's head as he walked into the kitchen, no clear destination in mind. The kitchen, dark and vacant, stood lonely and cold in the dim light of the stormy day. "I bloody love you and all you could tell me is we had to remain as friends…" Remus Lupin left the kitchen and headed into the living room again where the quarrel had just taken place. He stared at the couch where she told him she knew he loved her. The two blankets lay in a heap at the other end, forgotten in the conflict. Then, his gaze turned to the spot where they stood and she confessed her love for him in rage. The air was thick with tension, yet not a sound could be heard. It was as if their words lingered in the open air.

Other thoughts then filtered through the many already clouding up his mind. "If you only shown her how you felt when she had shown you her feelings, you would be able to hold her hand or wrap your arms around her without needing an excuse." Heading up the stairs, he repeated the argument in his head once more until he was startled by a small voice in the room nearest the staircase.

* * *

_I just poured my heart out__T__here's bits of it on the floor__And__ I take what's left of it and rinse it under cold water__And call him up for more_

Nymphadora walked the rainy streets of London, angry and heartbroken. Many faceless passerbies walked the streets, umbrellas in hand and in a hurry to get out of the dreary weather. Small children could be seen stomping through puddles as their angry mothers urged them to stop. The inhabitants gave the crying woman looks of sympathy and kept on their way. The tears fell freely down her cheeks, but were camelflagued by the wind-strewn rain that soaked her unshielded form. Brutal winds chilled the Auror to the bone, but she kept on, stomping through the puddles reflecting the area around her without any concern for her well being. There was no true destination in mind, but Tonks kept up a quick pace as if she had to be somewhere in a hurry, thoughts racing through her mind. The bandages secured around the wounded arm were soaked and slackening in their hold.

"Why do I even bother?!" Tonks thought somberly, sniffling as she pushed her plastered, purple hair out of her line of vision and kept on walking. "Stupid Tonks, always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time!" she berated, recalling the conversation clearly in her mind. " 'You finally see me for who I really am and that am why we can't be together.' Why can't you just wrap your arms around me and love me instead of that sympathy rubbish!" A tall, thin man in a bowler hat, sauntered by absentmindedly with a newspaper in hand and she remembered the unfinished article in the Prophet. "Might as well get a drink and find a spare paper," thought the soaked Auror as she found a secluded spot and Apparated to Hogsmeade.

_And I say baby, yes I feel stupid to call you, but I'm lonely__And__ I don't think you meant it when you said you couldn't love me__And I thought maybe if I kissed the way you do, you'd feel it too_

"Bad choice of words," it spoke, revealing itself as Sirius. Remus entered the room to see his friend stroking the top of his Hippogriff, Buckbeak's head with an empty bucket cast to the side of them.

"That was not—wait, how--"

"This house is too quiet and when the two of you argue, you kind of tend to let everyone hear; at least she does anyway," he replied, still stroking the Hippogriff who looked now to be asleep. Sirius stood up and went over to Remus who still stood at the beginning of the room. They left the room together and Sirius closed the door.

"I don't know what to do," sighed Remus as the duo descended the stairs into the living room where the fire crackled lowly.

"She really wants to be with you from the way it sounded. Why don't you give her a chance?" questioned Sirius as they sat down, Sirius on the couch and Remus in the armchair he seemed to favor sitting.

"Just look at me," Lupin stated rhetorically, but Black looked at him anyway, unfazed. When he gave no objection to argue, Lupin continued. "I'm too old for her, too poor to give her what she needs… and I'm too dangerous." He looked into the fire beginning to fade out. Rain could still be heard hammering at the windows through the silence. "I don't want to hurt her…"

"Is that how you're going to live?" Sirius replied, his tone rising angrily. "Always pushing others away because of your lycanthropy? James and I were always there for you after finding out you were a werewolf and we didn't care. I am still here for you today. Obviously, Tonks knows of your condition, but she doesn't care, does she? You don't need to let lycanthropy ruin your life!" Sirius finished, now standing. Lupin was still staring into the fire, but looked to his friend when he had stood up. The curly-haired man became angrier as he pressed on. "In case you hadn't realized, you're the one with a shot at life. You do not have to stay in hiding because a million and one people are just itching to lock your ass up in Azkaban for a crime you did not commit!" He was now standing in front of Lupin, anger of his friend's apparent selfishness coursing through his veins. Lupin could not take his eyes off his angry friend as realization struck him, hard. The look in Black's eyes displayed the fear he had to endure in the faceless prison, the worry of getting caught and sent back there and the distress of being trapped in the jail of a house he thought he'd escaped from. Lupin, on the other hand, was able to leave the house and breathe the fresh air, while Sirius was confined to the house of his horrible childhood and had to relive his worst memories.

"I'm sorry," Lupin muttered, turning his gaze away and sighing again while Sirius remained on the spot with his eyes fixed. "I did not realize just how selfish I was acting. You know, no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you. We've been friends for a long time and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure one day you'll be free." The anger left Sirius's face as he sat back down and also let out a sigh.

"Right now, you have to tell her what she means to you." Then, his tone lightened up considerably. "Everyone knows the two of you have a thing for one another, Moony." When Moony opened his mouth to protest, Sirius pressed on. "She was the one who bandaged you up when you were injured after the full moon a few months ago. I saw her leaving the room, but didn't say anything when you questioned it. I also saw your arms around her earlier." For the second time, Moony proceeded to protest, but Sirius, yet again, continued. "In quite a few Order meetings, your eyes seem to linger from whoever is speaking to the one with the pink hair."

The worry that had left Lupin's features in the light moment, returned. "After what happened here, she is not going to want to see me anytime soon. She was in a great hurry to leave after our quarrel," he sulked, again looking at the spot where their spat had occurred.

"Just give her some time," Sirius suggested. "On another note, Tonks was in the Prophet; destructive, isn't she?"

"It's an amplification of the truth; she and Alastor told me of the actual events. Didn't have a chance to read about it though. Do we still have today's paper?"

"I left it on the table in the kitchen," Sirius informed and Lupin stood up to retrieve it and read the article.

* * *

Tonks walked the village of Hogsmeade with an air of slight apprehension. At any moment, someone was going to stop and scrutinize her for her "recklessness." It never came. Just like the citizens in London, the citizens of Hogsmeade were bustling to get to their destinations, out of the heavy sheets of rain that fell. Half of the actual damage was already cleaned up and the other half was in progress.

"Everyone else has already let me have it today, let's see what Scrivencraft has to say," thought Tonks sagely as she made her way over to the quill shop, still oblivious to conjuring the impervious charm.

The sight of the store made her heart leap a bit as a large semi-circular, transparent bubble kept the rain out of the damaged second floor as Scrivencraft himself stood on the inside, finishing up mending the roof. The tall, burly man with gray and black hair who normally appeared friendly and welcoming in his shop, screwed up his face in concentration as the last shingle was firmly placed in its slot with the flick of his short wand.

"Whew," he sighed as he looked up at his work to make sure the puzzle of his roof was complete. Looking down, he noticed Tonks watching him with an expression of grim and guilt. However, the owner smiled as if waiting on a customer.

"Tonks," came the deep voice of Scrivencraft. "Give me one moment." With that, Scrivencraft left the room and within half a minute, opened the door with a 'closed for repair' sign tacked onto its front and let the Auror inside.

"I'm so sorry!" Tonks started yelling. "There were—"

"It's alright."

"The only way—"

"It's alright."

"I will hel—"

"IT'S ALRIGHT!" Scrivencraft yelled, silencing all the panic-stricken apologies. "I would appreciate it if you dried yourself off so my floors would stay dray," the store owner commanded kindly.

"Oh," Tonks yelped and dried with herself off with her wand. The day's Daily Prophet sat opened on the main counter, covering the numerous quills sitting on the shelf that sat inside the counter.

"Must've been some fight," Scrivencraft gestured, seeing the woman eyeing the changing picture of Hogsmeade taunting her from the counter.

"Some fight," Nymphadora spat sarcastically as she rounded on the man. "Your store is lying in a pile of rubble and Hogsmeade is no more!" The friendly smile never left his face as he tried to calm the fuming Auror, whose hair was flaming as were her angry eyes.

"Tonks, whatever had to be done, had to be done. I just hope everyone is alright." Tonks told him about Hestia and some details of the events occurring afterward.

After a while, Tonks excused herself so Scrivencraft could get back to the repairs of his shop and decided to head to the Three Broomsticks for a drink that was just calling her name. Hopefully, the only company there would be strangers that couldn't read the newspaper.

-----------------------------

Remus Lupin set off back to Grimmauld Place, returning from another mission for the Order of the Phoenix. Document hidden delicately inside and dressed in a hooded traveling cloak and a charm to repel the rain, he was prepared to handle the elements. Now, in the early evening, the rain had lightened up to a dull drizzle, but the winds still whipped violently through the drenched trees with a few limbs hanging down, sagging against the elements. The sky, in transition to the dusk, bared a dark, depressing shade of gray. Other than that, all was quiet.

Unknown to himself, the song Nymphadora had been singing for the past few weeks, popped into his mind. The song only reminded him of their walk and that was the last thought he wanted playing in his mind. The reluctant memories were wiped away when, in the distance, a group of sinister wizards dressed in onyx; hooded robes were seen walking quickly in his direction. Lupin's first instinct told him to keep his guard up, while another one told him the group was just some passerby. When caught sight of Remus, a gruff voice heard in nightmares spoke of his name.

With a flash, Remus's wand was out and at the ready, yet the group of wizards stood behind one man, taller than all the rest, halted, but did not take out their wands. Instead, the leader lowered his hood to reveal himself to be Fenrir Greyback. In his human form, he resembled a wolf with his sharp, piercing eyes and fur-covered face.

"You can put your wand away, I am not here to fight you," he spoke silkily. On his guard, Remus did not lower his hand, but listened. The followers behind Greyback remained still, their hoods covering their face; he assumed the group was of werewolves, awaiting the full moon.

"What do you want?" Lupin questioned, anger coursing though his veins, just hearing the voice of the man who turned his entire life upside down.

"It's almost here!" There was a hint of gruff excitement in his voice. "The Harvest Moon is vastly approaching, you see…" Greyback went off, simply walking past him, the group following their leader, all silent.

Rooted to the spot, he took all the information in. The Harvest moon was approaching and it was always the most difficult pain a reluctant werewolf had to endure. He had forgotten about it. The effects of the harvest moon were magnified from a regular full moon and were sometimes fatal, but with the Wolfsbane potion, some of the effects were somewhat controlled.

With a turn, the worried werewolf headed in another direction.

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Sorry I haven't updated in a while… ( I'll have a lot more time after Wednesday to do more updates because that is the last day of finals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	8. I showed her

The street was long and silent. The few houses that sat on the street were hunched in the darkness as many tall trees were their only company. Sharp winds rocked the trees this way and that, the only noise in the small neighborhood. Moderate drops of rain fell from the sky, but began to lighten slowly as the destination came closer. A tall house stood at the end of the street, giving off the air of a wooden cabin. The window revealed a lighted room, so the occupants were home. All other houses were dimly lightened or had no light at all.

Remus Lupin walked over to the door and with a short sigh, knocked on the door twice. The shadow of a short figure jumped up and went over to the window. With his hood down, Lupin was deemed familiar and the figure went over to the door, opening it slowly.

"It has been a while," a tall, thin man greeted, opening the door wider and letting his visitor in. The man had black spiky hair and olive colored skin. He was in his late twenties, but looked younger. His sullen expression gave the impression of one getting over an illness. He had tired eyes and bags under them to prove it. He was unhealthily skinny and his robes hung on his thin form. Otherwise, he held out a fragile hand and Lupin shook it, a warm expression taking over, changing to horror at the sight of the man.

"All right there Adam?" was all he could mutter, all reason for his visit lost. 

Adam was also a werewolf. Remus discovered Adam last December, after the night of the full moon when he took a walk over to the lake he visited often to clear his head. A man, severely injured, was seen lying by the lake bleeding, tattered and torn. Lupin sent for help knowing full well the "Werewolf night" look. At St. Mungo's, Remus confronted the man on being a werewolf and was told he was not alone. 

Adam was traveling and tragically surrounded by three werewolves and bitten by a large, gray one. He immediately felt the effects and transformed himself. He could not remember what happened to the werewolves or him, but of clouded thoughts including a need to harm others. Remus felt he could trust the man and told him he was a werewolf himself and informed him about the Wolfsbane potion, which eased his mind greatly.

Since Adam hadn't seen a Harvest moon's effects, Lupin thought he would pay him a visit and inform him on what he was in store for. With a lack of Wolfsbane ingredients, there was a lot more to be said.

"I've seen better days," Adam told his guest as he gestured for him to sit down on a squishy sofa, taking up most of the right wall, under the large front window. The two of them sat in the living room where a few oil lamps gave off a soft glow.

"Remus, I'm scared!" sputtered Adam quickly, suddenly, as Remus prepared to speak. Remus stopped and gave Adam the room to keep talking. "They say it's the worst night a werewolf will ever face, sometimes not making it out alive!" he choked, unable to contain himself.

"I have come here to talk to you about that," Lupin assured, reluctant to continue, seeing the panic-stricken man already in a fit of fear. He did not want to console in him all the dangers and pain he was in store for. However, it had to be done. "Do you have any Wolfsbane Potion in your stores?" he started off, hoping the answer was a yes, so he would be able to give a little reassurance.

"I have none, no, and there are no ingredients in sight. I looked everywhere, all over London, nothing. Why is there such a shortage?" he wondered sadly.

"I cannot give you an answer for that, for I do not know myself, but if you can somehow find some Wolfsbane potion, you will not have to face the full brunt of the upcoming harvest moon." Adam was silent for a bit.

"Why does this have to happen to me?" Adam sighed, looking at the wall, avoiding Remus's eyes. If he was to shed tears at this moment, it would not be judged. Transformation during the full moon was devastating, unfortunate…painful. Not only was pain inflicted to the victim, but also upon all of their friends and family. "I had a fulfilling job, a fiancé I loved more than life; they were both taken away!" he yelled, standing up, getting ready to strike a piece of furniture nearby.

"We do not choose to become Werewolves. We are the unfortunate souls attacked by a vile group of inhumans, but we do not have to live the lives they do. We have the power to fight it." Lupin then thought for a moment before deciding to tell his friend the full story of the night of the harvest moon.

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Nymphadora Tonks decided to pay a visit to Hestia because she thought she needed the company. She informed Moody she was going to visit early to give company before Hestia was to be discharged later that day. Alastor, Kingsley and Dawlish were going to accompany her out of the Hospital later on.

"You're an evil git, you know that!" Hestia yelled humorously as she saw Tonks standing in the doorway with a black robe folded in her arms. She knew Hestia would need one because the one she was currently wearing had been ripped up to fix and heal her wounds. Black hair tousled, Hestia had a final dose of Romeda potion on her back, but was sitting up, hunched over, instead of lying down. She looked much better and was excitedly anticipating her leave.

"How can you call me that?" Tonks shrieked, half sarcastic, half falsely, before giving a small grin. Hestia reached over to her bedside table and grabbed the pack of Droobles Best Blowing Gum and holding up the brightly colored package with a small green bow tacked on it.

"That was not me!" Tonks chortled, trying to contain her laugh, with no anvil. She chuckled heartily and sat down in a small chair near the bed, facing her Auror companion.

"When I am well and healed, I'm going to give you the tooth-flossing of a lifetime!" glared Hestia, laughing herself.

"Did you tell Lupin how you felt yet?" Hestia questioned innocently, adjusting herself a few times to get comfortable, before setting her chin on the back of her hand to listen.

"_I bloody love you and all you can tell me is we had to be friends!"_

"_I am not showing you pity. It' just—"_

"_What if I got hurt tomorrow? Would you only be there for me because I was weak?"_

"_You're not—"_

"_I don't want to hear it! You know what; I don't need your pity! Keep your paws off of me, Re—that did not come out right." _

"No," Nymphadora lied, taming her face from showing the emotions to the thoughts of her confession and their argument. The only person who knew of the fight would be Lupin and he would not tell a soul. Besides, Remus had not been seen at Grimmauld Place for the past two days. When Tonks went home the night of their fight, only Sirius occupied the silent home. He showed no signs of having heard the fight, but spent a portion of the time giving his cousin a sympathetic look in which she did not understand. She thought he had a lot on his mind or something. At the moment, she just did not want to think about it. Maybe she would tell Hestia later on. Tonks proceeded to smooth her robes to look away at the woman who did not seemed convinced. Then relief came as Hestia changed the subject.

"I was paid a visit by Alastor and Kingsley. They showed me the article in the paper. Once again, the Prophet substantially throws a story out of proportion to scare and draw in more readers. I was not able to see the events the lot of you have informed me on, but I know you all would never destroy anything on purpose. Even I can fix some of the damages we and the Pentadmagus created," Hestia told. Jones had a sudden spasm, telling her companion it was going to happen from time to time for the first week. The jolts Tonks felt went unmentioned.

"Did they tell you about Scrimgeour and his only concern for what the Prophet had to say and not of the people who were actually there?" Tonks bellowed, her tone rising with her voice.

"Did you start a quarrel again?" questioned Hestia, knowing it would not be the first time she and the Head of the Auror House bumped heads.

"I walked into the office and he starts a tirade of our destruction! He would not even ask of you! I was not going to he—"

"It does not mean you have to start a fight. You are to do your job and report to him; that's all. Disrespecting the Head puts you in the risk of getting sacked!" warned Hestia.

"So I've been told," sulked the young Auror, slouching and looking at the adjacent white wall.

"You just nee—"

"To stifle my need to interrupt," finished Nymphadora bitterly.

"I was going to say—"as Hestia made her statement, a knock was heard at the door. Both Aurors turned and Hestia beckoned, "Come in."

The door opened slowly and Moody, Dawlish and Kingsley entered. They too were relieved to see Hestia looking better.

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Hestia was released at noon. Although stiff and sore, her broken arm was almost healed and her right leg was casted, so she had to walk with crutches. Unlike Tonks who only had to take the Robeda potion if she experienced sharp pains, Hestia took a direct hit and had to take the potion twice everyday for two weeks. Moody informed her she had four weeks away from work to heal up. The group took her to her small flat two miles from Grimmauld Place in London. She wanted to rest up so she would be able to heal faster, so they left her to herself, telling her, she could contact them at any time if she needed anything or something was wrong Tonks promised she would stop by later on to see if she needed company and more gum. She received a glare.

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Sirius Black left Tonks and descended up the stairs to feed his Hippogriff, Buckbeak. Tonks and he were just lounging around after a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. The Auror then took out her wand a proceeded to write the lyrics to the song "What I've seen" in the air. The song was one of the first songs the Weird Sisters came out with a few years ago. As soon as a line was written, it would sing out to her. The song was very upbeat, so she wrote the words quickly and tried to keep up with the tune.

She must've been engrossed in her fun for she did not hear someone open the door and enter the house.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" shouted a voice behind her, sending Nymphadora a foot in the air and turning around only to see Mad-Eye Moody standing there expressionless. Her wand fell to the floor and the words floating in mid-air disappeared. Moody took off the Bowler hat he was wearing and held it in his right hand.

"Do you always have to do that to me!" protested Tonks as she stood up. Her friend would always startle her when she was not paying attention or let her guard down. It happened a lot when she first became an Auror because she would commonly become distracted on the little things. Now, however, it was used for laughs. 

Walking over to her, Mad-Eye held a large, thick, forest green-covered book and handed it over to her. "In here is all the information on the Pentadmagus. I remember reading about them and found this book for you to know about them." Nymphadora stared for a minute before using her good arm to take the book and reading its title, Ancient Evil: A History on Dark Wizards of the Past."

"I have to go now; some business to attend to," said Moody and walked out. Examining the metallic cover, Tonks opened the book and started reading.

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Remus Lupin decided to stop in the Three Broomsticks for a drink before heading home. He was really starting to feel the fatigue and wear on his body associated with the nearing of the full moon. One drink and he would return to get much needed rest. It was late in the evening and there weren't many inhabitants in the moderately sized pub, only a few stragglers lost within their own thoughts and miseries. Lupin went over to the counter and ordered a firewhisky. 

Taking one swig, Remus himself was lost within his own thoughts. Why didn't he remember the harvest moon was approaching, until confronted? All throughout the years, when the Harvest Moon arrived, it had not been destructive, although there were adverse effects stronger than the regular full moon. The Wolfsbane potion wasn't as affective as it was on the regular full moon, but still had most of the effects. The Prophet would always headline new attacks or casualties caused on the night, but would always fail to remind people to exercise caution when venturing out.

"I would like one firewhisky, please," chimed an all too familiar voice, breaking his train of thought. He turned around and saw Nymphadora Tonks standing at the bar, hair long and in its bubbly shade of bubblegum pink.

"Tonks," he called out, watching the Auror sit in one of the corners of the bar. The Auror looked around until she laid eyes on Lupin. Although she anticipated running into him again after their fight, she never really thought of what she would say when the time arose. Well, she would feed off of what he had to say. Nymphadora picked up her firewhisky and walked over to Lupin, reluctantly. Eyes locked, Lupin waited for her to sit down before saying anything.

"I never meant to lead you on," he began, unsure of what to say himself.

Fury kicking in, she took a generous swig of her firewhisky before continuing, "I do not like to be handled! No one holds anyone that way, just because they're hurt or whatever!"

"I know, the reason—"

"I regret saying what I said and I did not mean it at the least, but what you did to me, hurt me so bad, I was not able to think straight!"

"I know, but the—"

"You must've f—"

"I did." As plain and simple as those words were, they took Tonks a few moments to digest. Did he just say he did feel what she felt? She could only stare as she waited for the man across from her to continue. When he did not, she could only question, "What?"

"I wouldn't've done the things I've done, if I did not feel anything toward you. Seeing as I am the way I am, I just did not want to hurt you." Remus continued as Tonks was about to protest. "But, seeing 

a friend of mine lose everything because he was a werewolf, made me realize I was pushing everything I had away. I don't want to lose anything…or anyone." He took a drink. "I want us to be together, but there are a few things I want to handle first," Lupin told, taking a swig of Firewhisky and setting the drink down.

"Like what?"

"Something I must handle on my own."

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because I care about you."

"Then you wouldn't leave me in the dark. Is it the Harvest Moon approaching?" she accused. He did not say anything. "Are you afraid you migh—"

"No. That is one thing I am certain on. Although there is no Wolfsbane Potion, I will pull through," Lupin finished, finishing his firewhisky. "Then we will be able to be together."

"Alright," Tonks smiled. It felt as though a heavy load had been lifted from the two of them as they ordered another drink. Nymphadora told Lupin about the book she received from Moody and the information she learned on the Pentadmagus. The Pentadmagus were known for traveling in groups of five and simply robbing out and destroying towns they did not see fit to exist. It was unknown who the top leader was, but was said to have had a lot of power. They were said to have died out centuries ago, but were proven wrong by the appearance they gave in Hogsmeade. The duo could only guess there were more of them out there.

After finishing their second drink, the two of them made their way home because the pub was closing. The night was calm and peaceful, under a cloud-filled sky. The winds were calm and the streets were empty. As they walked into the house, the chimes of a grandfather clock spoke midnight. Not a sound was heard.

Lupin felt something collide into his back as Tonks tripped over the umbrella stand and collided into him.

"Had a bit much to drink?" he questioned her, as she straightened up the stand and replaced the umbrellas.

"No," Tonks sighed, "I always seem to trip over this thing. It's like it has legs that stretch out every time I walk in the door." The two of them shared a laugh as they made their way to bed. Before Lupin reached the foot of the stairs, he called out to Tonks who was putting out the fire in the living room fireplace. Walking over to her, Lupin wrapped his arms around his friend, giving her an honest, genuine embrace, in which she in return, embraced the man no werewolf could ever destroy. Thinking it was the right time, Tonks looked up at the man holding her and went in to give him a kiss, only he pulled back 

and Tonks took it as a sign it was not the right time. She apologized and held on to him a few moments more before breaking apart, and the two of them went to get some rest.


	9. mother knows best

Seeing as she had two weeks away from work, Nymphadora Tonks decided to pay that visit to her parents. She sent them word that she would be arriving soon and they wrote back telling her she would be able to stay as long as she wanted to. A week, she thought, was fine. Packing a trunk, Sirius strolled by, arms behind his head.

"Don't leave! I can change!" he mocked.

"It's you, not me," she replied slamming down the trunk, filled to the top; most of the contents in dissaray.

"Where are you heading?" he questioned.

"Gonna pay the parents a visit, I am," Tonks told him, showing him a picture they sent her in a previous letter. A glimmer of sadness flashed across Sirius's face. Remembering the Black family tree tapestry and the "changes" made to it; changes being Andromeda being slashed right off, knew he missed his cousin. She was, really, one of the only members of his family that he actually thought of as family. Her and her daughter Tonks. He had never actually met her husband Ted Tonks, only heard things about him, particularly his muggle-born status. It wasn't as if muggle-born was contagious, but seen as that with some Full-Blood families, particularly his. Sirius automatically thought of Ted as a good guy for taking Andromeda away from the horrid "family."

"She is possibly the only one I can call family," he sulked, staring at the picture.

"Do you want me to tell her about you?" Tonks suggested. "I'm pretty sure she would not tell a soul."

"She's read the Prophet. She's probably cursing me to this day."

"If she thinks that, then she will have probably read how I assisted in the destruction of Hogsmade," Tonks consoled. "I used to be with her when she read the paper. She knew there was a lot more than what the headlines told you.

"Just give her my best," Sirius surmised. "Maybe one day I'll be able to see her again."

"You will. Trust me." Tonks gave Sirius a small smile. "Just promise me, not too much mischief. Save some for me."

"If I run out, I'll be sure to go out and get some more."

When Tonks was done packing, Sirius helped her with her trunk. Upon reaching the door, she gave Sirius a hug, to which he returned. When she opened the door, Remus Lupin apparated at the door.

"Morning there," Remus greeted with a smile. A stack of enveloped parchment sat underneath his arm.

"I'll be away for a bit," she told Remus. "I've gotta pay my parents a visit and what better time than with my short suspension," she stated bitingly.

"I hope you have an enjoyable visit. All the best to your parents."

"I'll see you when I get back," she smiled and embraced him. He wrapped his arms around her. Over Tonk's shoulder, Lupin could see Sirius cocking his head slightly as if nudging him. When they broke apart, Tonks attached her trunk to her Comet 250 broomstick and took off into the crisp morning air. The clouds were puffy and in parts were patches of grey, but it did not seem as if it was going to rain.

"You look for me," Tonks sang as she made her way to Talin.

The town was quiet and peaceful. The streets were lined with common houses of medium tone and structure. Lawns were well kept and the leaves were turning quickly, scattering themselves everywhere. She was told this was an all witch and wizard neighborhood, so she knew she could use her wand with no problem. A man she passed was fixing a shutter with his wand and gave her a smile as she passed. She smiled and greeted him with good morning.

She had decided to walk once she reached the small town. This would give her the chance to know her surrounding as she was trained to do. "Constant Vigelence!" Alastor Moody had always told her. She swore she heard that in her sleep and had to stop herself from saying it.

Her mum had told her the house was on Golden Hill Road, number twenty-three. Upon finding the street, Tonks saw that it was a dead end.

"Twenty-three, twenty-three… thirty two, thirty…" Nymphadora counted, her broomstick with her luggage trailing beside her. She didn't need to know the number to guess her parent's house was the green one two houses from the end. There were leaves scattered all around the lawn and a tall portly man with a rake, working hard to contain, what would slowly and continuously float off the trees.

Smiling greatly, Tonks let out a, "Hey!"

The man stopped what he was doing and turned to see the source of the call. He dropped the rake and smiled just as great. "Who's there?"

"Your daughter!" she yelled, quickening her pace.

"That can't be my daughter! My daughter knows how to write and visit!" Abandoning her broom and truck, Tonks ran and leaped, giving her father a big hug.

"I missed you dad!" she chirped, almost in tears.

"I missed you too Dora! Let me take a look at ya. Still have that purple hair do ya? Giving them hell I see!" He chimed as Nymphadora looked over her dad. His hair was quite fair and he had similar facial features that he must've passed down to his daughter: heart-shaped face and dark eyes which held an optimistic brightness.

"You look great dad, except…" she glanced down at his belly. It had not been there the last time she had seen him, which was quite a while ago.

"Your old man let himself go a little," Ted Tonks chuckled heartily, one hand on his belly. "Dromeda!" Ted yelled. "We have company!" There was the flutter of a curtain and two seconds later, a woman of medium height and build with curly brown hair stood in the doorway.

"My Nymphadora!" she squealed. Ignoring the name, Nymphadora ran over and embraced her mother, to which her mother squeezed her, hard. "My baby! How have you been!"

"Suffocating!" Tonks choked out and her mother let her go slightly and took a good look at her. "Honey, you look so thin. Are you eating well?"

"Fine, mum. I've just been very busy with work."

"I'll just have to prepare a huge lunch," Andromeda smiled and started walking back into the house.

"Wait'll you see the inside," Ted said as he put an arm around his daughter and led her to the house.

"How come you're raking the yard? There's a nice little spell that'll get it all done," Tonks informed her dad. Andromeda walked back outside.

"I told your father to tidy up the front yard. Whether it be by spell or rake, the job was going to be done. Seeing as the pair of you were never really good with cleaning spells, a rake was in order." Andromeda then rounded on her daughter. "I hope you are keeping up with your household."

Tonks turned to her father and gave an unconvincing, "sure."

The house was simple and comfortable. The livingroom had two long sofas and a small coffee table in the center of the room, all beneth an exquisetly designed floor rug. A fireplace hung in the back of the room with quite a few moving photos on top of its mantel. One photo was of Andromeda, Ted and an infant Tonks. Another showed Ted and Tonks at the age of fifteen. You could see the strong resemblance they share. All the way at the end was a picture of Andromeda and two other girls: Narcissa and Bellatrix, her sisters. They are all smiling and in their teen years. Andromeda told her family she keeps the photo up because there was a time when she was alright with her family and wished her sisters did not disown her.

Looking past the fireplace to the western corner Tonks noticed…

"Mom is that a Television set?" she questioned.

"It was a gift from Arthur Weasley," Ted smiled.

"You know Arthur Weasely, dad? I work with him occasionally. We learned about those in Muggle studies," Tonks replied. "I still don't understand how those are interesting."

"Ask your mother," Ted laughs, pointing to his wife. "She enjoys watching Muggle soap operas."

"How they get by without magic I'll never know, but there's always something big going on," Andromeda defends. They all sit down on the sofa.

"By the way," Ted suddenly states, "What is this we hear, about you destroying Hogsmade?" Tonks groaned as Ted leaves the room and returns with The Daily Prophet with the article titled, "Lax Acts Destroy Hogsmade."

"It's not what you think," Nymphadora defended. "We, in fact, saved the town."

"I know that," her father smiles. "You're still here right and not in a comfy cell." Tonks then proceed to tell her parents the story of her early shift.

Tonks never realized how much she missed her family. She used to be close with her mom and lost that when she moved out and started Auror training. Her father and she were the messy ones. They never really had a knack for cleaning, spells or labor and attempting some of those spells only led to a bigger mess in which her mother had to take over. She tried over and over to teach them, but it just never really caught on.

While helping with breakfast the next morning, Tonks dropped a plate and a glass.

"And I'd thought you'd grow out of that," her mother commented on her clumsiness.

"I thought so too, but apparently it's stuck on me like a bad curse…Dad!" she turned, giving her dad a look.

"What are you looking at me for?" he questioned innocently and in just the right moment, spills his cup of coffee.

"See! This is where I get it from!" Tonks whines, pointing to her dad. He laughs.

"Well, I gotta be heading to work now," Ted says and stands up.

"Gives us some girl time," Andromeda smiles and kisses her husband.

"Be careful, honey," she warns as she adjusts the neck of his robe.

"I always am," he consoles warmly and kisses Nymphadora on the cheek.

"Love you, dear," Andromeda calls.

"Love you too and you Dora."

"Love you dad." Ted left.

As Andromeda and her daughter continue to eat breakfast, Tonks cannot help but to think of Remus. Even though Ted was a muggle-born, it made no difference in Andromeda's eyes. It did to her family though, for their marriage led to her being disowned from the Black family.

"Mom?"

"What is it dear?"

"What made you choose dad over your family?"

"I love your father. He was the only man who could look past what you were to see who you were. He may have not been accepted in my family, but I was welcomed with open arms into his. They did not see me as having the prejudice my family had and accepted me for me," Andromeda told.

Tonks grew silent.

"What's the matter dear?"

"It's nothing."

"You would not bring that up if it was for nothing. A mother knows."

"Well…I fancy a man, but he's not exactly perfect."

"No one is dear."

"What I mean is, he has a condition. He has lycanthropy."

When her mother saw her not continue, all she could say was, "Oh."

"I mean, he lives a normal life, but on the day of the full moon, he goes through the transformation. Its nothing too major, but he feels he is too dangerous to have a relationship."

"You just have to give it some time. If he has the same feelings, he will come around. I don't see Lycanthropy destroying a relationship, especially if you do not see it as a problem. Others might, but it does not matter what they think. I'm a living example of ignoring what others think."

"Thanks mom." That went well. Her mother was a very understanding woman. Tonks seized the chance. "Mom, remember Sirius?"


End file.
